Snaking along as far as the eye can see, the queue of cars lines up at the border, fleeing Russia.
It is an image replicated in the crowds packing Moscow airport, almost all men.
Hundreds of thousands of young men and former soldiers will now be called up and sent to the battlefield in Russian President Vladimir Putin ’s war on Ukraine.
Despite an order banning under-65s from leaving the country, many are reportedly getting through the borders with Georgia and Finland as people pack up and flee to avoid being drafted.
However, airlines and train companies are said to have stopped sales to male passengers in that age group.
And with limited destinations on offer as a result of sanctions, flight prices have skyrocketed.
A one-way trip from Moscow to Peru will now cost £14,900.
The fear is palpable among those who could soon find themselves on the front line
Grisha, 24, an engineering student in St Petersburg, received basic military training as part of his course at university, and now he fears he is first in line to be drafted.
He says: “I didn’t start this war. I don’t want this war.
“There’s no way I’m going to go and get killed [in Ukraine]. And for what?”
Olya, 23, is nervous her boyfriend will be called up.
She says: “My godfather served in the army before as well, so he can be made to go and fight now.
“He’s worried, he has a young family and a good life with them in the countryside.
“He spends his time playing with hedgehogs in the garden, not killing people.
“My dad continues to support the ‘special operation’ in Ukraine. I told him if he really thinks we’re under attack, he should be the one to go and fight, not guys who don’t want to be there.”
But while the Kremlin is hoping drafting teenagers will be enough to swing the war in its favour, others say it could easily backfire.
Russian propaganda expert Dr Jade McGlynn said: “This is a dangerous moment for Putin.
“There’s always a small number of people who rabidly support the war, but most people don’t want to send their sons to die.”
A poll carried out by allies of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny found half of Russians believe drafting people into the military “is a step in the wrong direction”.
On Wednesday night, furious young people took to the streets of Moscow to protest the mobilisation order, chanting “No to war”.
Riot police detained dozens of them, with many handed conscription notices in the station. Those who refuse face up to ten years in jail.
Meanwhile, pop sensation and cultural icon Alla Pugacheva has become the latest in a series of celebrities to hit out at Putin’s attempts to destroy Ukraine.
She said this vain quest is “making our country a pariah and the lives of our citizens extremely difficult”.
At the same time, Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, told him that “today’s era is not the era of war.”
Meanwhile, pop sensation and cultural icon Alla Pugacheva has become the latest in a series of celebrities to hit out at Putin’s attempts to destroy Ukraine, which she said is “making our country a pariah and the lives of our citizens extremely difficult.”
