Monday 26 September 2022 04:29 PM Russia sends troops to Georgian border to 'set up checkpoint' as men flee the ... trends now
Russian troops have been deployed near the border with Georgia today even as the Kremlin tries to stamp out rumours that Putin is about to introduce martial law and ban people from leaving in order to avoid being conscripted into the army.
Footage geolocated to the small town of Chmi, on the main highway from Russia into Georgia's South Ossetia region, shows at least six soldiers sitting on top of an armoured vehicle passing a queue of cars in the direction of the crossing.
Troops arrived to set up a checkpoint, sources told the Russia's RBC network, with the FSB saying they were sent to stop people storming the crossing after miles-long queues of men trying to dodge the draft built up.
But it raised fears that Putin is preparing to seal Russia's borders to stop men fleeing the draft, amid reports that 260,000 have fled in just five days.
Russian troops have deployed to the border with Georgia where huge queues have built up as men try to flee the country to avoid Putin's draft order
The FSB said the soldiers were there to prevent disorder, as the Kremlin tried to stamp out rumours that Putin is about to declare martial law
Dmitry Peskov, asked about rumours of border closures and martial law today, insisted that he had no idea about any such plans.
'No decisions have been made for now,' he told reporters in Moscow.
Meduza was first to report rumours that the borders could be sealed, citing a source within the presidential palace who also revealed the figure that were estimated to have fled across the border
In a rare admission, the Kremlin did admit 'errors' in the mobilisation - saying Putin's order to conscript 300,000 men with military experience had not been followed, after footage showed middle-aged men and students being drafted.
But, Peskov insisted, 'instances of non-compliance (with the decree) are decreasing. We hope this will speed up and that all errors will be corrected.'
However, there appeared little sign that compliance was improving today as a commissar in the Siberian region of Irkutsk was shot inside a draft office.
Investigators said the suspect was a 25-year-old local, and a woman who identified herself as his mother said he was 'very upset'
