“It seems that this is a hoax,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at his daily press conference, referring to figures published by the Russian edition of the US magazine Forbes.
“I don’t think this news should be taken seriously,” the spokesman said, stressing that the number of people who left the country after the mobilization was announced was “far” from being as high as the press suggests.
Last week, Putin ordered all men who had mistakenly mobilized to be sent home in the face of mounting protests and allegations of abuse against those responsible for the recruitment sites.
On Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that since September 21, more than 200,000 citizens have joined the ranks, out of a total of 300,000 reserves scheduled to be mobilized.
The Kazakhstan authorities, in turn, indicated that more than 200,000 Russians entered the Central Asian country after the partial mobilization was announced in Russia.
On the same day the partial mobilization was announced, a petition against the decision garnered nearly 180,000 signatures, while a real rush to buy airline tickets to Russia’s neighbors took place.
Flights quickly filled up and fares for other flights soared, apparently spurred by fears that Russia’s borders might be closed or the announcement of a broader call to the front lines in the conflict in Ukraine. February.
Soon, a land border was sought, on which several kilometers of lines of cars were set up to leave Russia.
In Finland, the number of people coming from Russia to try to cross the border nearly doubled in the days after the mobilization was announced, with Helsinki eventually deciding to bar Russian tourists from entering.
Poland and the three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – bordering Russia also took similar measures, imposing restrictions on the entry of Russian citizens as much as possible.
