Monday, September 26, 2022

‘I’m no cannon fodder. I am not a murderer’: Thousands of Russians flee to Georgia

KAZBEGI, Georgia (AFP) — Nikita spent two days in traffic before he made it to Georgia, one of the thousands of Russian men seeking to evade the Ukraine war draft.

The latest wave of Russian exiles since the war began in February has seen military-aged men pour into the Caucasus country — by cars in a column stretching for some 20 kilometers (12.4 miles), by bicycles and some walking kilometers by foot to the border crossing.

“I have no choice but to flee Russia,” Nikita told AFP standing outside the Georgian side of the Kazbegi border crossing in a narrow rocky ravine.

“Why on earth would I need to go to that crazy war?” the 23-year-old added “I am no cannon fodder. I am not a murderer,” he said as a vulture circled overhead, high in the clear sky.

Like the majority of men who talked to AFP, he declined to give his last name fearing retribution. READ MORE