98,000 Russians enter Kazakhstan after Putin’s military call-up

Russians wait and lineup to get Kazakhstan’s INN in a public service center in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. A day after President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization to bolster his troops in Ukraine, many Russians are leaving their homes. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP)

About 98,000 Russians have crossed into Kazakhstan in the week since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation of reservists to fight in Ukraine, Kazakh officials said.

As men seeking to avoid the call-up continued to flee by land and air into neighbouring countries, Kazakhstan and Georgia – both part of the former Soviet Union – appeared to be the most popular destinations for those crossing by car, bicycle or on foot.