Vladimir Putin’s military draft “changed everything” for the tens of thousands of Russians who have fled their country since the Russian leader's mobilization was announced last month, according to recent arrivals in Istanbul.
Niki Proshin, 28, left St. Petersburg last week, part of a torrent of Russian men escaping their homeland following Putin's Sept. 21 declaration of a “partial mobilization” for the war in Ukraine. The Russian military call-up came as some Russian troops have been forced to retreat amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
