Russians rush for flights out amid partial reservist call-up

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC
Associated Press

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Large numbers of Russians have rushed to book one-way tickets out of the country after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of military reservists for the war in Ukraine. Flights filled up quickly and the prices of airline tickets skyrocketed on Wednesday, apparently driven by fears that Russia’s borders could soon close. Tickets for the Moscow-Belgrade flights operated by Air Serbia, the only European carrier besides Turkish Airlines to maintain flights to Russia despite a European Union flight embargo, sold out for the next several days. The price for flights from Moscow to Istanbul or Dubai reached as high as 9,200 euros ($9,119) for a one-way economy class fare. Russians also rushed to buy train tickets in an effort to leave.