Numerous men flee Russia - is Putin igniting the next escalation level in the Ukraine war?
Created: 03/07/2022, 11:41 am
By: Tom Offinger
The bloody war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for twelve days now.
Fear of a further escalation of the conflict is now driving many Russian men abroad.
Moscow/Munich - It's war in Europe.
The world has changed since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Nevertheless, the advance of the well-armed Russian army stalled, the resistance of the Ukrainian soldiers, but also of the ordinary population, caused admiration worldwide.
One of the reasons for this is martial law, which the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj imposed a few hours after the attack: While millions of women and children fled the war, able-bodied men aged 18 to 60 have to defend their country.
War in Ukraine: General mobilization as the next escalation?
It's a decision that won't spark widespread enthusiasm, but ultimately it could be a crucial advantage for Ukraine.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has so far refrained from this radical reaction, but there, too, the concerns of ordinary people about a possible general mobilization are growing.
As US journalist Julia Ioffe reported last week, more and more Russian men are trying to flee abroad to avoid moving in.
Unlike in Germany, in Russia there is compulsory military service for men aged 18 to 28 (two-year compulsory service).
"We're trying to reach the Baltics before he delivers his State of the Union address," Ioffe quoted a friend as saying on Twitter on Thursday (March 3).
"'Stop texting me.
I try to keep my phone clean.
They search our phones at the border.
I'll write to you as soon as I'm on the other side."
Vladimir Putin: advance falters - will tougher measures follow?
In his most recent speeches, the 69-year-old Russian President refrained from ordering martial law, but such a step still seems conceivable.
The original military plan to subjugate large parts of the Ukraine with the help of a rapid advance has clearly failed, large cities such as Kharkiv and Kyiv are still resisting the Russian invaders 12 days after the invasion.
The worst could still be in store for Ukraine, as evidenced by the satellite images of the kilometer-long military convoy outside the gates of the capital Kyiv.
In addition to the feared large-scale bombardment, these tougher measures could also include the confiscation of all able-bodied men.
War in Ukraine: Russians brace themselves against attack
At the same time, the attempts by numerous Russians to flee underline a well-known perspective: the war in Ukraine is not supported by everyone in Russia, despite all the state propaganda.
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