Russian conscripts kiss families goodbye as they board war buses

Sent to their deaths: Russian conscripts kiss their families goodbye as they board buses to Ukraine after some were handed mobilisation papers in a POLICE STATION after being arrested for protesting the war

  • Russian men are being rounded up and sent to war after Putin’s mobilisation
  • British MoD says the reservists won’t be ready for combat for months
  • Protesters detained yesterday face being conscripted against their will 

Newly-conscripted Russian men have bidden an emotional farewell to their tearful wives and families, possibly for the final time, as they head to the front lines of the war in Ukraine.

Putin announced a partial mobilisation yesterday and vowed to use ‘all available means’ to deter future attacks, sending at least 300,000 reservists to battle in a dramatic escalation of his savage invasion.

There are fears the conscription will see more civilian men of fighting age drafted into the brutal seven-month conflict, driving thousands to bid for freedom by buying one-way tickets to safety or trying to cross the border into neighbouring countries.

Footage today shows groups of terrified men hugging their weeping partners and children before boarding buses taking them to war.

But Britain’s Ministry of Defence said it will take months for the new recruits to be fully prepared for war despite Putin’s attempts to bolster his flagging campaign.

Russia is also boosting its draft numbers by forcing those detained during mass protests yesterday to join the war effort, by handing them conscription papers while in the police station.

Newly-conscripted Russian men have bidden an emotional farewell to their tearful wives and families

Children and partners were weeping as they said goodbye to the men who have been drafted into the war

Putin announced a partial mobilisation yesterday and vowed to use ‘all available means’ to deter future attacks

An estimated 1,400 people were detained as unrest broke out across the country over Putin’s mobilisation order.

Independent monitoring group OVD-Info said at least four police stations in Moscow were drafting protesters directly into the military, spokeswoman Maria Kuznetsova told CNN.

The group’s spokeswoman Maria Kuznetsova said in a phone call with CNN that at at least four police stations in Moscow some of the protesters arrested by riot police were being drafted directly into Russia’s military. 

According to Russian media outlets, anyone taking part in the so-called ‘illegal rallies’ risks military conscription.

In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to deny Russian the report, saying: ‘This is not against the law.’

Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov said on Telegram that all participants would be referred to the Internal Affairs Ministry and then drafted.

He added: ‘They will check the documents immediately on the spot, identify them, detain them and send them to the Internal Affairs bodies.

‘Then, with the participation of representatives of the military registration and enlistment office, the draft category will be determined. 

‘Those who do not immediately fit the first category will be registered for subsequent conscription.’

At least 300,000 reservists have been sent to battle in a dramatic escalation of Putin’s savage invasion

A child is held up to a bus window to say goodbye to their father being taken to the front lines

There are fears the conscription will see more civilian men of fighting age drafted into the brutal seven-month conflict

Britain’s Ministry of Defence said it will take months for the new recruits to be fully prepared for war despite Putin’s attempts to bolster his flagging campaign

More protests are scheduled to take place today, organised by anti-war groups, as opposition to the invasion grows. 

In a daily briefing, the MoD said: ‘Russia is likely to struggle with the logistical and administrative challenges of even mustering the 300,000 personnel. 

‘It will probably attempt to stand up new formations with many of these troops, which are unlikely to be combat effective for months.

‘Even this limited mobilisation is likely to be highly unpopular with parts of the Russian population. Putin is accepting considerable political risk in the hope of generating much needed combat power.

‘The move is effectively an admission that Russia has exhausted its supply of willing volunteers to fight in Ukraine.’

Putin’s announcement led to a mass exodus with traffic at border crossings with Finland and Georgia surging and prices for air tickets from Moscow rocketing

According to Russian media outlets, anyone taking part in the so-called ‘illegal rallies’ risks military conscription

There were angry clashes last night between activists and security forces, with protestors being forcefully taken to the ground and removed from the streets as the government cracks down on vocal dissent.

Demonstrators tonight chanted anti-war slogans, with some calling for Putin himself to go to the trenches in Ukraine, while other’s have angrily proclaimed they’re not willing to die for him.

The first protests against the partial mobilisation took place in Siberia, with demonstrators risking being jailed under draconian laws forbidding criticism of the armed forces.

Videos circulating on social media show people marching through the streets of Moscow chanting ‘no to war’, and mass arrests by armed police wearing riot gear and all black clothing. 

One protester was hauled into detention in Novosibirsk after shouting at police and FSB officers at a rally: ‘I am not going to die for Putin, or for you!’ 

Anger has also erupted on social media and a new word was even invented to describe the hell Putin has unleashed – ‘Mogilisation’, from the Russian word ‘Могила’ [Mogila] – or grave, the morbid fate awaiting thousands drafted into the army. 

Police officers detain demonstrators in Saint Petersburg yesterday as protests broke out across Russia

A man is dragged away by Russian security forces at a protest in Moscow against Vladimir Putin’s order for the mobilisation of military reservists

Putin’s announcement led to a mass exodus with traffic at border crossings with Finland and Georgia surging and prices for air tickets from Moscow rocketing.

Prices for air tickets out of Moscow soared above £5,000 for one-way tickets to the nearest foreign locations, with most air tickets sold out completely for coming days.

Social media groups popped up with advice on how to get out of Russia while one news site in Russian gave a list of ‘where to run away right now from Russia.’ There were long tailbacks at border crossings with Georgia.

‘War is horrible,’ Sergei, a Russian man who declined to give his surname, told Reuters as he arrived in Belgrade, the Serbian capital. ‘It’s okay to be afraid of war and of death and such things.’

One Russian man who gave his name only as Alex told Reuters in Istanbul that he had left Russia partly due to the mobilisation.

A woman is carried away by Russian police in Moscow during a demonstration against the Russian president’s latest escalation in the Ukraine conflict

A man is carried away by security personnel in Moscow as thousands took to the streets to protest against the war and the mobilisation of reservists

There were clashes between police and protesters in Moscow =as people took to the streets to protest Putin’s latest plans in the Ukraine conflict

‘The partial mobilisation is one of the reasons why I am here,’ he said. ‘A very poor step it seems to be, and it can lead to lots of problems to lots of Russians.’

Russian state-owned pollsters say that more than 70 per cent of Russians support what the Kremlin calls the ‘special military operation’, though polling leaked in July showed an even split between those who wanted to fighting to stop or continue.

A tourism industry source told Reuters that there was desperation as people sought to find air tickets out of Russia.

‘This is panic demand from people who are afraid they won’t be able to leave the country later – people are buying tickets not caring where they fly to,’ the source said.

Traffic arriving at Finland’s eastern border with Russia ‘intensified’ overnight, the Finnish Border Guard said.

‘The number clearly has picked up,’ the Finnish border guard’s head of international affairs, Matti Pitkaniitty, told Reuters, adding that the situation was under control and border guards were ready at nine checkpoints.

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