In November, a US military chief put the number of Russian soldiers killed or wounded in the Ukraine war at over 100,000
Facing a series of setbacks on the battlefield, Russian President Vladimir Putin in September drafted up 300,000 additional troops. The ‘partial mobilization’ meant that citizens who were in the reserve could be called up, and those with military experience would be subject to conscription, Putin said at the time.
The move prompted an exodus from Russia as thousands of military-age men fled the country rather than face the risk of conscription. Video footage showed long lines of traffic at land border crossings into several neighboring countries and surging airfares and sold out fights in the wake of the announcement.
More than 8,500 Russians traveled into neighboring Finland by land on the Saturday following Putin’s announcement, according to Finnish Border Guard official Matti Pitkäniitty.
By September 28, collective data from various countries showed that over 200,000 people had fled Russia and traveled into Georgia, Kazakhstan and the EU.
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