Direct flights from Moscow to Istanbul, Yerevan in Armenia and Baku in Azerbaijan are among those that are full, according to ticket aggregator websites. According to Google Trends, the term “leaving Russia” has seen a sharp rise in searches among Russians in the past 24 hours. Google Trends data also showed a spike in Russians searching for “Aviasales” — a leading Russian flight sales engine. The number had quadrupled within 24 hours with most searches coming from Moscow and St Petersburg. Demonstrations broke out in the streets of Russia after Putin announced a partial mobilization of citizens. Some protesters clashed with police and were reportedly immediately deployed, while other Russians sought to flee the country. CNN’s Clare Sebastian reports. According to ticket aggregator Aviasales, Friday one-way tickets from Moscow to Istanbul start at $2,715 per ticket. Before President Putin’s mobilization announcement, tickets cost about $350. The website of Russian state carrier Aeroflot showed that all economy class tickets to Armenia are sold out by September 28. Aeroflot said in a statement: “Due to questions from passengers and the media, we would like to inform you that the airlines of the Aeroflot Group are operating as normal. There are no restrictions on the sale of tickets.” Those who tried to leave the country by land also increased. Traffic on Finland’s eastern border with Russia intensified overnight Thursday, a Finnish border guard official tweeted. The border guard’s head of international affairs, Matti Pitkaniitty, tweeted that 4,824 Russians arrived in Finland through the country’s eastern border on Wednesday night. He added that this move is “lower than [a] normal weekend’, but it was significantly higher than the 3,133 Russians who arrived through the border last Wednesday. Thursday morning traffic also remained busy, he said. On Wednesday, Defense Minister Andi Kaikkonen said Finland was closely monitoring the situation in Russia after the Kremlin announced a “partial mobilization”. A surge in demand for flights out of the country and traffic at the Finnish border followed Putin’s speech on Wednesday morning, an intervention that threatened to escalate his faltering invasion of Ukraine. The “partial mobilization” of citizens means those in the reserve could be called up and those with military experience would be subject to conscription, Putin said. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a partial military mobilization in Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh reports. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Russian television on Wednesday morning that 300,000 reservists would be called up. Putin added that the relevant decree had already been signed and is in force. The upheaval in online searches for flights out of Russia may indicate growing dissent over the Kremlin’s actions in Ukraine. On Monday, Russian pop legend Alla Pugacheva became the latest high-profile Russian to voice her opposition to the war. He called for an end to Russian soldiers who “die for illusory purposes that make our country a pariah.” While Putin’s speech on Wednesday has serious implications for sections of the Russian population, it also sent further warning shots to the West. The President said he would use “all means at our disposal” and even raised the possibility of using nuclear weapons if he deemed Russia’s “territorial integrity” threatened.
