Flights out of Russia are almost fully booked after
President Vladimir Putin ordered reserve forces into Ukraine. Eviasales, a website
that sells air travel tickets in Russia, showed on Wednesday that all tickets
to neighboring countries Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan were sold
out. Turkish Airlines said on its website that all flights to Istanbul were
also booked until Saturday. Putin announced himself by giving a speech on TV.
Russian Airlines stopped ticket sales
Ukrainian President Zelensky said, "I don't believe Putin will use nuclear weapons" Several news websites and journalists reported on Twitter that Russian airlines had stopped selling tickets to men aged 18-65 (wartime age). The news comes at a time when fears of martial law in the country have been raised. Fortune has said in one of its reports that the youth can leave the country only after the permission of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
People are being made part of the war
It is also likely that Luhansk and Donetsk will hold referendums later this week that would give Russian President Putin the opportunity to officially annex the regions into Russia. After Putin's speech on Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that 300,000 troops could be called up to serve the country. According to The Guardian, recruitment is underway on behalf of mercenary organisation, Wagner Group. People who have been convicted in Russia are also being tried to be part of the Ukraine war.
