Kazakhstan’s border agency on Friday confirmed that the number of Russians entering the country has increased following the partial mobilization of reservists to Ukraine announced on Wednesday by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Currently, there is an increase in the number of foreigners entering the Republic of Kazakhstan through the Kazakh-Russian border”the agency of that Central Asian country’s National Security Committee said in a statement.
Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization” of the country’s citizens on Wednesday as the war in Ukraine approaches its seventh month of conflict, in a message addressed to the nation.
The measure, which came into effect immediately, is justified by the need to defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The announcement immediately sparked a rush to buy travel from Russia, with flights filling up quickly, as thousands of people in the country took to the streets to protest the mobilization of reservists, resulting in more than 1,300 arrests.
On Thursday, social networks published several videos showing long lines of cars with Russian license plates at various border posts between Russia and Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan’s border agency explained that the 30 car checkpoints are “working normally”, but admitted that there is “congestion in four of the places due to the increased flow of passengers and vehicles”.
“The situation is under special control. The Border Service, together with the relevant government agencies, ensures security and law enforcement at the borders. Cooperation with the Russian Border Service has already been organized.”emphasized the Kazakh agency.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan, since the beginning of the year and so far, 4.3 million foreigners have entered the country, 1.6 million of whom are Russians.
The Kazakh ministry assured that “migration processes” and compliance with the law, which allows Russians to enter Kazakhstan without a visa, are “monitored”, although they can only stay in the neighboring country for 90 days.
The same lines that occur on the border with Kazakhstan can also be seen in other neighboring countries of Russia such as Finland, Mongolia and Georgia, coinciding with Putin’s partial mobilization decree.
Source: DN
