Flights out of Russia sell out amid conscription fears after Putin mobilises more troops to 'defend our motherland'
21 September 2022, 07:48 | Updated: 21 September 2022, 16:28
Flights out of Russia have skyrocketed in price and some have already sold out hours after Putin announced he would mobilise more troops in his invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian President announced the mobilisation of 300,000 reservists - the first Russian mobilisation since the Second World War, and the biggest escalation of the conflict in Ukraine since it began in February.
Whilst Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said only those with military experience would be called up, the move has sparked panic amongst some citizens.
There has been a rush to book flights amid fears men of fighting age may soon be prevented from leaving the country.
Speaking after Putin's televised statement, US President Joe Biden said the war in Ukraine was "chosen by one man".
He added Russia has "attempted to erase a sovereign state from the map", adding that the war is about "extinguishing Ukraine's right to exist as a state, plain and simple".
Putin also used his earlier address to the nation to insist he was "not bluffing" as he warned his nation would "protect its sovereignty".
He accused the West of engaging in "nuclear blackmail" and noted "statements of some high-ranking representatives of the leading Nato states about the possibility of using nuclear weapons of mass destruction against Russia".
And he added: "To those who allow themselves such statements regarding Russia, I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and for separate components and more modern than those of Nato countries, and when the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, to protect Russia and our people, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal."
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His address - the first since troops invaded in February - comes a day after Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold votes on becoming integral parts of Russia.
The Kremlin-backed efforts to swallow up four regions could set the stage for Moscow to escalate the war following recent Ukrainian successes on the battlefield.
The referendums will start on Friday in the Luhansk, Kherson and partly Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk areas.
Western leaders have condemned plans for referendums to be held in parts of Ukraine.
French president Emmanuel Macron says the votes would never be accepted by the international community.
The UK's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Mr Putin's actions were "an admission that his invasion is failing".
"No amount of threats and propaganda can hide the fact that Ukraine is winning this war, the international community are united and Russia is becoming a global pariah."
Read more: Liz Truss pledges £2.3bn in military aid for Ukraine as politics returns
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Meanwhile, Foreign Office minister Gillian Keegan has slammed Mr Putin's "lies" and said the UK must help Ukraine defend its freedom.
She told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: "This is more of Putin's lies. It's a rewriting of history, and let me be clear Russia is responsible for this illegal war."
She said the UK is "steadfast" in our support for Ukraine as the war enters its seventh month.
"The Ukrainian people have been fighting this for more than six months now and will continue to fight with our help," she said.
She said discussions will continue to seek a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war but admitted Mr Putin's comments are a "worrying escalation".
"Some of the language there was quite concerning at the end and obviously we would urge for calm," she told Sky News.
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The Chichester MP also said: "It's something that we should take very seriously because, you know, we're not in control.
"I'm not sure he's in control either really. I mean, this is obviously an escalation and, of course, for the Russian people now they will be conscripted into this war."
A former adviser to Mr Putin suggested the Russian leader would be ready to use nuclear weapons against Western nations such as the UK.
Political scientist Sergei Markov said it "could kill a lot of people in the Western countries".
Mr Markov added: "This nuclear war could be a result of the crazy behaviour of the president of the United States Joe Biden and prime ministers of Great Britain Boris Johnson and Liz Truss."
The Prime Minister, who will hold talks with the US President in New York on Wednesday, was using a visit to the United Nations to rally support for Ukraine.
Ms Truss met Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska and prime minister Denys Shmyal to tour an exhibition titled "Russian Warcrimes" at the Ukrainian Institute of America on Tuesday evening.
The Prime Minister shook her head in despair as she witnessed images including dead children on hospital gurneys and a heavily pregnant woman injured in the shelling of a Mariupol hospital.
"These are the type of crimes we thought had been consigned to history," Ms Truss said.
