Men flee Russia after call-ups to Ukraine invasion

Military-aged men are fleeing Russia in droves, filling planes and causing huge traffic jams at border crossings, to avoid being rounded up to fight in Ukraine following the Kremlin’s partial military mobilisation.

Queues stretching for six miles formed on a road leading to the southern border with Georgia.

The lines of cars were so long at the border with Kazakhstan that some people abandoned their vehicles and proceeded on foot.

Meanwhile, dozens of flights out of Russia — with tickets sold at sky-high prices — carried men to Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Serbia, where Russians do not need visas.

Among those who reached Turkey was a 41-year-old who landed in Istanbul with a suitcase and a backpack and plans to set up a new life in Israel.

“I’m against this war, and I’m not going to be a part of it. I’m not going to be a murderer,” said the man, who identified himself only as Yevgeny to avoid retribution on his family left behind in Russia.

He referred to Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal”.

German government officials have suggested helping Russian men deserting military service, and are calling for a Europe-wide solution that might see them afforded refugee status if they faced repression.