One-way flights out of Russia were selling out fast following Vladimir Putin’s latest call-up of reservists.
It comes as the Russian president threatened a nuclear attack on the West during his first televised address since February.
Vladimir Putin’s early-morning announcement of the immediate call-up of 300,000 reservists resulted in one-way flights out of the country selling out fast.
Read More: Vladimir Putin issues ominous nuclear bomb threat to West and says it 'is not a bluff'
Fears were raised that men of fighting age would not be allowed to leave Russia following the televised address.
Minister of Defence, Sergei Shoigu, outlined that the call-up would be limited to those who had experience as professional soldiers only. Students, those who served as conscripts and the general male population would not be called.
However, Reuters reported that Google Trends data showed a spike in searches for Aviasales, which is Russia's most popular website for purchasing flights.
“Direct flights from Moscow to Istanbul in Turkey and Yerevan in Armenia, both destinations that allow Russians to enter without a visa, were sold out on Wednesday, according to Aviasales data.
“Some routes with stopovers, including those from Moscow to Tbilisi, were also unavailable, while the cheapest flights from the capital to Dubai were costing more than 300,000 roubles ($5,000) - about five times the average monthly wage,” the report from Reuters said.
Professor Tracey German of King’s College London described the move as “significant”. She said: “I think it’s an admission from both Putin and Sergei Shoigu, his Defence Minister, that the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine has not been going to plan.”
She told RTE’s News At One that partial mobilisation was “not something that they wanted to do”. German said: “In terms of the domestic Russian population, they were seeking to sell this as a very short, limited operation that would be a success.
“The fact that they are having to mobilise to replace lost man power in Ukraine, I think is very significant.”
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