Russian men have been lining up for kilometres at the borders of several neighbouring countries to avoid President Vladimir Putin's mobilisation efforts.
Georgia's Interior Ministry said over 53,000 Russians had entered the country since last week, and Kazakhstan said 98,000 had made the crossing into its territory.
Finland's border agency said more than 43,000 arrived in the same period, and media reports suggested 3,000 Russians had entered Mongolia, which also shares a border with the country.
Russian authorities have reportedly now established a makeshift enlistment office at the Verkhny Lars crossing into Georgia, sparking concerns about wider conscription announcements.
Here's what we know about the situation at border crossing checkpoints, who is trying to leave Russia, and what authorities have said.
The border
Some main roads out of Russia are almost completely gridlocked, with some people choosing to leave their cars and walk.
Space tech company Maxar, which has captured satellite images of the queues, said on Wednesday the traffic jam at the border between Russia and Georgia stretched to about 16 kilometres.
People have lined up for hours and even days to cross borders, but some people attempting to get into Georgia have reportedly been faced with a new roadblock when they finally reached the checkpoint out of the country.
Russia's state news agency posted on Telegram that Russian citizens who were "subject to conscription" would "receive summonses at the border with Georgia", quoting North Ossetia officials.
The TASS news agency also reported that a hotline established by Russian authorities to answer questions about the partial mobilisation had processed almost 500,000 calls in just days.
The people
Men of fighting age have been fleeing the country since Putin announced a partial mobilisation of reservists a week ago.
Plane tickets sold out almost immediately, leaving some men and their families to attempt to leave Russia by road.
"A week ago, I could not imagine I'd be in Kazakhstan," said 25-year-old Vladislav, while fleeing his home country.
"I don't want to die."
Most people leaving Russia did not want to be identified by their full names.
Another man, Vsevolod, spent four days driving from Moscow to the southern border with Georgia before having to abandon his car and continue on foot.
"At 26, I do not want to be carried home in a zinc-lined [coffin] or stain [my] hands with somebody’s blood because of the war of one person that wants to build an empire," he said.
For 24-year-old Fyodor, his decision to leave Russia was made "as a precautionary measure" to "take a head start, just in case".
He said he walked five kilometres to the border and waited in line for six hours in the rain before getting to the northern Kazakh city of Oral.
"There is full chaos [in Russia]," he said.
"We don't understand what will happen."
Another man from St Petersburg, who didn't give his first or surname over fears for his safety, said he drove for three days to Uralsk in north-western Kazakhstan.
"People worry that sooner or later, a full mobilisation will be announced, and no-one will be able to cross the borders," he said.
The destinations
Georgia's Interior Ministry says over 53,000 Russians have entered the country since last week, and tens of thousands of Russians have also fled to Kazakhstan, Finland and Mongolia, among other nations.
Kazakhstan's Interior Minister Marat Akhmetzhanov said authorities would not send those avoiding the call-up home unless they were on an international wanted list for criminal charges.
"This is a political and humanitarian issue," Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
Russia's Defence Ministry said in a Telegram statement that it had "sent no appeals to state authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Georgia or other countries regarding [the] forced return of Russian citizens located there, has not prepared any and does not plan to".
Countries like Kazakhstan and Georgia were both part of the former Soviet Union and they offer visa-free entry by Russian nationals, but nations such as Finland and Norway require visas.
However, Finland's Council of State released a statement last week outlining plans for a "significant restriction of the entry of Russian citizens and the issuance of visas based on the serious damage to Finland's international position", meaning it could soon become more difficult for those fleeing to get in.
The authorities
Putin and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had previously promised that only people who had already served in the country's defence force or those with specialised military skills would be called up.
But reports from the ground have indicated that people with no military service or experience are being issued draft papers.
A Russian interior ministry official acknowledged there was a backlog of about 5,500 cars waiting to cross the Georgian border on Tuesday, adding that a mobile draft office would be set up at the border in the "near future".
Independent Russian news sources have previously reported unconfirmed claims that draft-age men will be banned from leaving.
Meanwhile, Kremlin-backed polls on joining Russia have come to a close in four regions in eastern Ukraine.
According to Moscow, all of those polls finished with huge majorities in favour of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk joining Russia.
ABC/wires
