'I don't want to go to the war. I don't want to die in this senseless war. This is a fratricidal war,' said Dmitri, who fled Russia for Armenia with just one small bag.
Mobilised reservists arrive at a recruitment centre following a decree on a partial military mobilisation in Russia.Moscow began its mandatory troop call-up Thursday to try to bolster a stumbling war effort in Ukraine, with authorities saying thousands had volunteered even as Russian men fled the country to avoid being forced to fight.
"I don't want to go to the war," a man named Dmitri, who had flown to Armenia with just one small bag, told AFP.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday called on Russians to resist the partial mobilisation announced by President Vladimir Putin, which has sparked protests and a fresh exodus out of the country.
On Thursday the Kremlin dismissed as "fake" reports that Russians eligible for mobilisation were rushing for the exit.Military-aged men made up the majority of those arriving off the latest flight from Moscow at the Armenian airport and many were reluctant to speak. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - whom Mr Blinken has refused to meet individually since the February invasion - lashed out at Western accusations.
Mr Lavrov accused Kyiv of threatening Russia's security and "brazenly trampling" the rights of Russians and Russian-speakers in Ukraine, adding that it all "simply confirms the decision to conduct the special military operation was inevitable".Mr Lavrov said countries supplying weapons to Ukraine and training its soldiers were parties to the conflict, adding that "the intentional fomenting of this conflict by the collective West remained unpunished".
"The date has been set. We have the green light. Voting begins tomorrow and nothing can prevent this," he told Russian state-run media.Western leaders convening in New York this week unanimously condemned the ballots.
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