Some Russians flee Ukraine conscription as Moscow remains defiant at U.N

Cars queue to enter Finland from Russia at Finland's most southern crossing point Vaalimaa, around three hour drive from Saint Petersburg, in Vaalimaa, Finland September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Essi Lehto

Some draft-age Russians rushed to leave the country on Thursday to escape their country's biggest conscription drive since World War Two, as world powers at the United Nations demanded Moscow be held accountable for alleged atrocities in Ukraine.

Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, responded with defiance, defending Moscow's record and accusing Kyiv and its Western allies of threatening his country, before walking out at the end of his speech to the Security Council.