A call for mobilization woke up the Russian reservists this morning. In a rare televised address to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin told them that his special operation in Ukraine required a partial mobilization. Three hundred thousand soldiers are necessary to defend the homeland from Ukraine, Putin told them.
The Russian "Vesna" (Spring) movement called for a Russian protest against the mobilization announced by President Vladimir Putin.
Activists called the citizens to gather at 19:00 on September 21 in the center of their cities.
"Thousands of Russians - our fathers, brothers and husbands - will be thrown into the meat grinder of war. What will they die for? What will mothers and children shed tears for?" says the appeal of the movement. "Vesna" called on Russian soldiers to refuse to participate in the war and to surrender until the amendments passed by the Duma, making it a crime, come into force.
Tickets for flights from Russia quickly sold out after President Vladimir Putin ordered the immediate mobilization of 300,000 reservists, the British agency Reuters reports.
Google Trends data shows a spike in searches for Aviasales, Russia's most popular website for buying flight tickets.
Direct flights from Moscow to Istanbul, Turkey, and Yerevan, Armenia, the two destinations that allow Russians to enter visa-free, according to Aviasales, were sold out, and some connecting flights, including those from Moscow to Tbilisi, were also were unavailable.
The cheapest flights from the capital of Russia to Dubai cost more than 300,000 rubles (5,000 euros).
