Kazakhstan confirms an increase in people arriving in the country from Russia after “partial mobilization”

Sep. 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Kazakh authorities confirmed this Friday an increase in the number of people crossing the border from Russia, after Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed a “partial mobilization” on Wednesday due to the war in Ukraine.

The Border Guard Service of the Kazakh National Security Committee has indicated that the 30 border posts “work routinely” and added that “the situation is under special control,” according to the Kazakh news portal Kazinform.

“The Border Guard Service and authorized state agencies are ensuring security and tranquility at border posts and are interacting with their Russian colleagues,” it detailed in a statement.

Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov on Thursday called reports of large queues at the country’s airports trying to leave Russia “exaggerated.” “Reporting of airport disruption is greatly exaggerated. There is a lot of misinformation about it,” he said.

Putin on Wednesday framed the decision in “necessary and urgent measures to protect Russia’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity” and warned that Moscow will use “all means” in the event of a “threat to Russian territorial integrity”. “It’s not a bluff,” he maintained.

For his part, the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, explained that nearly 300,000 reservists will be called up and has indicated that this “partial mobilization” will affect 1.1 percent of the country’s mobilization resources.