Wednesday 28 September 2022 05:41 PM Russians are BANNED from driving into region bordering Georgia with thousands ... trends now
A Russian region has imposed restrictions on cars arriving from other parts of the country as an exodus of military-age men led to a queue of over 3,000 vehicles at the a crossing point into Georgia.
The North Ossetia republic, which borders Georgia, was battling queues of cars visible from space at the region's Verkhny Lars crossing point, after 20,000 crossed into the neighbouring country in two days.
Governor Sergei Menyailo has now banned cars arriving from other parts of the country, to stop civilians trying to flee Putin's partial mobilisation order imposed last week.
An estimated 194,000 Russian nationals have fled to neighbouring Georgia, Kazakhstan and Finland in the past week.
Menyailo said on Telegram: 'We will not be physically able to ensure order and security if this flow continues to grow.'
He said the ban would not apply to residents or tourists, or to cars entering from Georgia or its breakaway South Ossetia region.
Russians arrive in Georgia after crossing the Kazbegi / Verkhniy Lars border crossing point today
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows people and vehicles queuing to cross the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgia border
Long lines of vehicles have formed at a border crossing between Russia's North Ossetia region and Georgia after Moscow announced a partial military mobilisation
An estimated 194,000 Russian nationals have fled to neighbouring Georgia, Kazakhstan and Finland in the past week
The North Ossetia republic, which borders Georgia, was battling queues of 3,000 cars at the region's Verkhny Lars crossing point
Georgia, which allows Russians to stay without a visa for a year, has been one of the most popular destinations for the thousands leaving Russia amid Putin's attempts to bolster his army.
There are no direct flights between Russia and Georgia, and Verkhny Lars, which straddles a remote mountain pass, is the only operational crossing point between them.
According to the online service Yandex Maps, the traffic jam leading to Verkhny Lars, a border crossing into Georgia from Russia's North Ossetia region, stretched for about over nine miles on Tuesday.
Social media showed hundreds of pedestrians lining up at the checkpoint after Russian border guards relaxed regulations and allowed people to cross on foot.
Similarly long queues were reported at some crossings into Kazakhstan.
A traveller reacts after crossing the border with Russia at the frontier checkpoint Verkhny Lars
A satellite image shows traffic at the Khyagt border post on Russia's border with Mongolia, September 23, 2022
A satellite image shows trucks and cars waiting in a traffic jam near Russia's border with Georgia as Russians desperately try to flee the country, September 25, 2022
After crossing the border, Russians are being greeted with Georgian protesters
North Ossetian authorities on Tuesday announced the creation of a temporary draft office at Verkhny Lars which would issue draft papers to reservists barred from leaving Russia under the mobilisation order.
The Interior Ministry of Georgia said over 53,000 Russians have entered the country since last week, while Interior Ministry officials in Kazakhstan said 98,000 crossed into that nation.
The Finnish Border Guard agency said over 43,000 arrived in the same period. Media reports also said another 3,000 Russians entered Mongolia, which also shares a border with the country.
After crossing the border, Russians are being greeted with Georgian protesters rallying against the 'uncontrolled' migration of citizens who up to now had remained silent over the war in Ukraine.
Waving Georgian and Ukrainian flags, dozens of protesters gathered near the Kazbegi border crossing point.
Ukrainian national anthem and folk songs were playing at the rally, organised by a pro-Western opposition party, Droa.
Governor Sergei Menyailo has now banned cars arriving from other parts of the country
Georgian police officers set up a cordon in front of opposition activists, who hold a rally to support Ukrainians
Georgian activists protest against mass immigration from Russia at the Kazbegi / Verkhniy Lars border crossing point
The Interior Ministry of Georgia said over 53,000 Russians have entered the country since last week
Demonstrators held placards that read 'Putin is a terrorist' and 'Russia kills.'
'Uncontrolled, unprecedented influx of Russians poses security risks to Georgia,' one of the rally organisers, Tamar Gvinianidze, told AFP.
'The border must be closed immediately as the Georgian government has proved incapable of handling the migration crisis,' she added.
She said a bigger mass rally to demand the closure of Georgia's border with Russia will be held in the coming days outside the border checkpoint.
On Tuesday, Georgia's interior minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said the number of Russians entering Georgia daily has nearly doubled since September 21, reaching some 10,000 people a day.
Over the first four months of the war, nearly 50,000 Russians fled to Georgia, where they can stay for a year without a visa, the country's statistics office said in June.
Some 40,000
