Residents Leave Russia After Announcement Of Mobilization, Kremlin: No Decision On Border Closure Yet

JAKARTA - The Kremlin said on Monday no decision had been taken on whether to close Russia's borders to stop the exodus of military-aged men fleeing the country, after days of chaotic scenes during the first military mobilization since World War Two.

Asked about a possible border closure, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no decision had been made.

"I don't know anything about this. At the moment, no decision has been taken on this," he told reporters.

Reports Russia may be closing borders have contributed to the chaos since President Vladimir Putin gave orders last week to call in hundreds of thousands of reservists, in the biggest escalation of Ukraine's seven-month war.

Flights out of Russia have sold out, while cars have piled up at border checkpoints, with reports of 48-hour queues at the border's only road to Georgia, a pro-Western neighbor that allows Russian citizens to enter without visas.

"Everyone who is of military age should be prohibited from traveling abroad under the current situation," Sergei Tsekov, a senior lawmaker representing Russia's annexed Crimea in Russia's upper house of parliament, told RIA news agency.

Separately, two news sites, Meduza and Novaya Gazeta Europe, reported authorities were planning to bar men from leaving, citing unnamed officials.

The mobilization was accompanied by an announcement by President Putin that Moscow would hold a vote to annex the four Ukrainian provinces occupied by his troops.

The West has called the vote, which is due to end on Tuesday, a bogus pretext to seize seized territory by force.

The mobilizations have led to the first sustained protests in Russia since the war began, with one monitoring group estimating at least 2,000 people have been arrested so far.

All public criticism of special military operations is prohibited.

Peskov acknowledged some notices of errors in the calls were issued, saying they would be corrected by regional governors and the Defense Ministry.

It is known that Russia counts millions of former conscripts as official reserves. Authorities have not specified who will be called in, but say they will recruit 300,000 people, most with recent military experience.