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Agencies

Russia pushed ahead on Thursday with its biggest conscription since World War II while Ukraine demanded “just punishment” for a seven-month-old invasion sending shock waves around the world.
President Vladimir Putin’s order to mobilise another 300,000 Russians to fight signalled a major escalation of a war that has already killed thousands, displaced millions, pulverised cities, damaged the global economy and revived Cold War confrontation.
The conscription campaign may be the riskiest domestic move of Putin’s two decades in power, after Kremlin promises that it would not happen and a string of battlefield failures in Ukraine.
Monitoring group OVD-Info said nearly 1,400 people in 38 Russian cities were detained in anti-war protests on Wednesday. They were the first nationwide anti-war protests since the fighting began in late February.
Independent news outlets said some of those arrested were served summons to report to military enlistment offices on Thursday, the first full day of conscription.
On the Moscow metro, men could be seen studying call-up papers.
“You always feel worried at moments like these. Because you have a wife and kids and you think about it,” one resident told Reuters.
What does Putin’s ‘partial’ mobilisation mean for Russia?
Large numbers of Russians rushed to book one-way tickets out of the country while they still could.
Tickets for the Moscow-Belgrade flights operated by Air Serbia, the only European carrier besides Turkish Airlines to maintain flights to Russia despite a European Union flight embargo, quickly sold out for the next several days.
The price for flights from Moscow to Istanbul or Dubai increased within minutes before jumping again, reaching as high as €9,200 (US$9,119) for a one-way economy class fare.
“Every normal person is (concerned), it’s horrible,” said one man, identifying himself only as Sergey, disembarking in Belgrade after a flight from Moscow.
“It is OK to be afraid of the war and such things.”
Putin’s partial mobilisation order came two days before Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine plan to hold referendums on becoming part of Russia – a move that could allow Moscow to escalate the war.


The votes start on Friday in the Luhansk, Kherson and partly Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.
Foreign leaders are already calling the votes illegitimate and nonbinding. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said they were a “sham” and “noise” to distract the public.
Ukraine extended its hold on recaptured northeastern territory earlier this week as troops marched farther into areas abandoned by Russia, paving the way for a potential assault on occupation forces in the Donbas industrial heartland.
In calling for the mobilisation, Putin cited the length of the front line, which he said exceeds 1,000km (more than 620 miles). He also said Russia is effectively fighting the combined military might of Western countries.
Ukraine says 200 prisoners of war swapped for one man, a Putin ally
Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, said only some of those with relevant combat and service experience would be mobilised. He said about 25 million people fit that criteria, but only about 1 per cent of them would be mobilised.
It wasn’t clear how many years of combat experience or what level of training soldiers must have to be mobilised. Another clause in the decree prevents most professional soldiers from terminating their contracts until after the partial mobilisation.
The Vesna opposition movement called for protests, saying: “Thousands of Russian men – our fathers, brothers and husbands will be thrown into the meat grinder of the war. What will they be dying for? What will mothers and children be crying for?”
The Moscow prosecutor’s office warned that organising or participating in protests could lead to up to 15 years in prison. Authorities have issued similar warnings ahead of other protests.

Russian political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin said Putin’s announcement seemed “an act of desperation”.
“People will evade this mobilisation in every possible way, bribe their way out of this mobilisation, leave the country,” he said.
He described the announcement as “a huge personal blow to Russian citizens, who until recently (took part in the hostilities) with pleasure, sitting on their couches, (watching) TV. And now the war has come into their home”.
Ukraine meanwhile urged the United Nations to create a special tribunal and strip Moscow of its UN Security Council veto power as a diplomatic showdown loomed on Thursday in New York.
“A crime has been committed against Ukraine, and we demand just punishment,” Zelensky told world leaders at the annual UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

The Security Council has been unable to take meaningful action on Ukraine because Russia is a permanent veto-wielding member along with the United States, France, Britain and China.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was to face his Ukrainian and Western counterparts when UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan brief the 15-member council later on Thursday.
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of war crimes in Ukraine. Moscow denies targeting civilians and describes accusations of abuses as a smear campaign by Western powers intent on destroying a resurgent Russia.
Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse


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Ukraine war

Ukraine war: Putin’s military call-up triggers protests as Russians seek ways out

Russian law enforcement officers detain men during an unsanctioned rally in Moscow, Russia. Photo: Reuters

Police officers detain a man in Moscow, following calls to protest against the partial mobilisation announced by President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AFP

Destroyed Russian armoured vehicles in Izium, a town recently liberated by Ukrainian armed forces in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. Photo: Reuters

What does Putin’s ‘partial’ mobilisation mean for Russia?

A billboard in St Petersburg, Russia, depicts a soldier with the slogan ‘Serving Russia is a real job’. Photo: EPA-EFE

Anti-war protests were held in 37 Russian cities on Wednesday, including St Petersburg and Moscow. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine says 200 prisoners of war swapped for one man, a Putin ally

Ukrainian Viktor Medvedchuk, a close associate of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, was facing life in prison on charges of treason. File photo: AP  

A Ukrainian prisoner of war kisses the ground after a swap. Photo: Reuters 

Prisoners of war after a swap, in a location given as Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine war: flights out of Russia sell out after Putin orders partial call-up of reservists

Russia’s Aeroflot said it was not limiting ticket sales. Photo: Reuters

A hoarding promoting contract army service displayed in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Photo: AFP

Ukraine war: Russia calls up 300,000 reservists as Putin vows ‘all means’ for defence

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing the nation in Moscow on Wednesday. Photo: Russian Presidential Press Service 

A hoarding with the slogan ‘Glory to the Heroes of Russia’ in St Petersburg, Russia. Photo: EPA-EFE

Destroyed Russian armour in Izium, a town recently liberated by Ukrainian troops in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. Photo: Reuters

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Vladimir Putin’s order to send reservists to Ukraine sparked protests and hundreds of arrests in Russia
Large numbers of Russians rushed to book one-way tickets out of the country while they still could



Large numbers of Russians rushed to book one-way tickets out of the country while they still could.


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