Thousands of Russians are said to be fleeing Russia amid the threat that the Kremlin will impose martial law upon the country. Martial law is a special status in which military or government figures impose special laws allegedly designed to maintain national security and mobilise the wider population.
Anti-war and anti-Putin activists fear that martial law could be used to crack down even harder on their activities and impose on them severe criminal sanctions. Already an estimated 7,000 Russians have been arrested for taking part in anti-war demonstrations across the country.
The Kremlin has already passed new laws in recent days that mean people can be imprisoned for up to 15 years for spreading information about the Ukraine conflict that the Russian state deems to be 'fake-news'. Citizens have also been barred from calling the conflict in Ukraine a 'war' and must instead refer to it as a 'special military operation'.
Many fleeing the country have gone to cross the border at Armenia and into the EU state of Finland. Commercial Russian airlines are banned from Europe and North America meaning escape is now even more difficult.
One woman fleeing Russia told the BBC:
"People in Ukraine are our people - our family. We shouldn't be killing them."
"I'm 30, I haven't seen the worst... the repressions, the secret police… I had a very clear fear that if I'm not going to fly out right now, I will not be able to fly out ever."
Another said:
"In my worst nightmares I couldn't have dreamt of such hell when I was coming back a year ago."
Russia is increasingly isolated politically and militarily since its invasion of Ukraine, with its central bank and commercial bank sectors being heavily sanctioned. Most Western businesses have also pulled out of the country. As such, the Russian currency, the Rouble, has collapsed, and very high levels of inflation may be expected. Commentators have said that Putin vastly underestimated both the strength of Western response to the invasion, and the military ability of the Ukrainians.
[Based on reporting by: Yahoo news]
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