Russian conscripts not banned from leaving country, says State Duma head

MOSCOW

A ban on unauthorized departure from a place of residence under Russian mobilization law does not apply in a partial mobilization, the head of Russia's lower parliament chamber said on Thursday.

"Citizens who are on military registration do not need the permission of military commissariats (to travel abroad)," Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the State Duma, said on Telegram.

In a separate statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had organized mobilization points on the country's land borders with Finland, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, as thousands of Russians have left the country since President Vladimir Putin declared partial mobilization on Sept. 21 amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The ministry said the staff at the mobilization points would serve summons to Russian nationals, conscripted into the army under mobilization.

The partial mobilization measures affect about 300,000 people between the ages of 18 and 50.