More than 360 people detained in Russia in protests against military mobilization 

Putin mobilizes reservists, says he is willing to use “all means” against Ukraine and warns: “This is not a bluff”

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this Wednesday (21) a “partial mobilization” of Russians of fighting age in Ukraine and warned the West that the country is willing to use “all means” in its defense. “This is not a bluff”, declared Putin, who accused Western countries of wanting to “destroy” Russia and of “nuclear blackmail” against his country, implying that his forces would be willing to use nuclear weapons.

According to OVD-Info, an organization that monitors the arrests of opponents, the mobilizations took place in at least 23 cities across the country.

AFP journalists in Moscow witnessed at least 50 people detained on one of the capital's central avenues. In Saint Petersburg, Russia's second city, police took away a bus full of detainees.

Protesters shouted “No to war!” e “No to mobilization!”.

“Everyone is afraid. I'm in favor of peace and I don't want to have to shoot. But it's too dangerous to go out now, otherwise there wouldn't be many more people,” said one protester from St. Petersburg, Vasily Fedorov, a student who wore a peace emblem on his chest.

Alexei Zavarki, 60, lamented the police response to the demonstrations.

“I came to participate, but it seems like everyone has already been taken,” he said. “I don’t know where we are going, this government has signed its death sentence, it has destroyed the youth”, he lamented.

Russians rush to buy plane tickets

Vladimir Putin's announcement of a partial mobilization to reinforce his troops in Ukraine caused a rush to airline websites this Wednesday (21) to try to leave Russia as quickly as possible.

Initially, the mobilization affects 300.000 reservists, but, according to the Ministry of Defense, 25 million Russians are eligible to join the ranks of the Army in eastern and southern Ukraine.

According to the statistics tool Google Trends, which allows you to know how often a word is typed in the Google, searches in Russia for the terms “tickets” and “plane” have more than doubled since 6am this Wednesday (21), at the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s recorded speech.

The Belgorod region, which borders northeastern Ukraine and which has been hit by Ukrainian attacks since late February, ranks first on the list of places where these Internet searches were carried out.

Tickets for direct flights to the nearest destinations – Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan or Kazakhstan – are sold out for today, reports the Aviasales website, which is very popular in Russia.

In the direction of Istanbul, with Turkish Airlines, one of the main plane routes out of the country since Western sanctions and the closure of European airspace, “all flights are full” until Saturday.

On AirSerbia, to get to Belgrade, the next flight with available seats is for Monday, 26th.

Prices for domestic air tickets to cities close to the borders have soared, as evidenced by tickets being offered from Moscow to Vladikavkaz (south) for more than $750, compared to just $70 normally.

At the beginning of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, there was a first exodus of Russians who opposed the invasion, or feared mobilization.

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(With AFP)