Young Russians flee country as conscripts for Ukraine war handed rusty weapons
Within hours of Vladimir Putin announcing a draft to fill the dwindling ranks of the Russian military, a series of sobering Google searches began to trend.
Surging up the Google Trends rankings was the phrase "How to leave Russia", as many Russian men look to avoid being pressed into service.
Another troubling search topic rapidly climbing in Russia was the phrase "how to break arm at home".
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A traffic jam near the Russia border with Georgia formed from people desperate to leave the country. Maxar
A broken arm would keep an unwilling man out of the military, at least for a while.
Putin announced the conscription of 300,000 men in the military reserve or anyone with previous military experience.
With military service compulsory for young Russians, this would make nearly all young men eligible for a call-up to the Ukrainian front.
Massive queues have formed at border crossings with Russians eager to leave.
Border crossings into Finland have doubled in the past week.
At the land border into Georgia, a 10km queue has formed, with an estimated 24-hour wait to get out of the country.
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Young Russians grinning at the camera after crossing the border into Georgia rather than be drafted into the military. AP
In the Kazakh city of Uralsk, Russians who cannot find a room to stay are sleeping in a cinema.
It is believed eligible Russians will be banned from leaving the country soon, prompting a speedy exit.
Others resisting the draft are doing so violently.
In Siberia, a 25-year-old shot a military recruitment officer at close range at an enlistment centre.
In Volgograd, another centre was destroyed by a man who hurled Molotov cocktails into the building.
Meanwhile, footage has emerged of Russian conscripts filming the poor quality of the weapons they have been given.
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Russian conscripts were handed rust-covered AK-47s before being sent into Ukraine. Twitter
Russian conscripts were handed rust-covered AK-47s before being sent into Ukraine. Twitter
Video that has been widely circulated on social media shows soldiers looking at rust-covered AK-47s.
"This is f---ed. I'm in f---ing awe," one of the soldiers can be heard saying.
An estimated 56,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the country invaded Ukraine in February.
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