Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement Wednesday that he is calling in military reserves to reinforce his troops in Ukraine reportedly led to a surge of Russians purchasing one-way plane tickets to leave the country.
Putin spoke to the nation in Moscow. Press service from Russia.
In a pre-recorded address on Wednesday, Putin promised that only those already in the reserves would be called up for the war.
The flights to destinations that still have direct flights from Moscow sold out quickly.
According to the Associated Press, the economy class ticket to Istanbul went for more than $9,100 before it sold out, while the cheapest ticket to the city went for more than $5,000.
Turkish Airlines' website shows that flights from Moscow to Istanbul are fully booked through the weekend.
Immediately after Putin's speech, searches for "Aviasales," a website commonly used to buy flight tickets in the country, and "Russian passport" skyrocketed.
The war in Ukraine is about to get much worse according to Putin. He warned those trying to blackmail us with nuclear weapons that the wind can turn in their direction and that Russia will do everything in its power to defend its territories. After a series of setbacks in the Kharkiv region due to a Ukrainian counteroffensive, Putin made an announcement. There were mass graves in a forest outside the town that held hundreds of bodies, according to the Ukrainians.
Putin supports annexation referendums in Russia. The referendums have been denounced as sham votes.
The U.S., U.K. and European Union closed their airspace to Russian flights after the invasion of Ukraine.
The military says it has reclaimed several towns and cities in the past day.
Putin hired 300,000 Reservists to fight in Ukranian as he supported referendums in Russian territories.
Russians rush for flights out as they get called up.
The flights out of Russia sell out.
A mass burial site has been found in the territory reclaimed from Russia.
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