There are already far fewer people on the border with Russia - Georgian Interior Ministry
Fewer people on the Georgian-Russian border
The influx of people from Russia trying to cross the border with Georgia through the Upper Lars checkpoint has significantly decreased, the Georgian interior ministry reports.
They say that in the course of one day, by the morning of September 30, 6,109 Russian citizens had crossed the Georgian border into the country. At the same time, 5,186 Russian citizens left the country.
The interior ministry also reports that the movement of trucks and cars at the Daryal checkpoint has returned to normal, meaning that transit traffic, disrupted in recent days, has been fully restored.
On September 27 the interior ministry reported that there were many more Russian citizens who had not been allowed to enter the territory of Georgia for reasons stipulated by law.
Additional police units are said to have been deployed at this border point, on top of a permanent security contingent.
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Vladimir Putin announced partial military mobilization in Russia on 21 September. During the first stage, men aged 18-35 are to be conscripted, then 35-45-year-olds, and so on. The Russian media write about the mass conscription of young men to participate in the war that Russia is waging in Ukraine. There is panic among the population. Protests have begun in many Russian cities.
According to Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu, up to 300,000 people will be mobilized. However, Novaya Gazeta.Europe, citing a source, claims that the seventh, secret clause of Putin’s mobilization decree allows for up to a million men.
After the partial mobilization was announced in Russia, Russian citizens began to leave the country en masse, including in the direction of Georgia.
Photos circulating on Telegram show an armored personnel carrier carrying masked men dressed in military uniforms on the Russian side of the Upper Lars checkpoint. The Russian FSB said it was a precautionary measure in case people decided to force their way across the border into Georgia.
Fewer people on the Georgian-Russian border