It has been reported that Russian police have detained hundreds of protestors who were gathering to demonstrate against the decision made by the Kremlin to call up thousands of more troops to fight in Ukraine.
According to the Russian human rights group OVD-Info, the number is greater than 1,300.
The city with the highest number of arrests was St. Petersburg, followed by Moscow.
Irkutsk, along with other cities in Siberia, as well as Yekaterinburg, hosted dozens of them.
After Vladimir Putin's statement, tickets for flights departing Russia sold out quite quickly.
Images shared on social media showed people waiting in lengthy lines at border crossings, while the number of people searching Google for "how to escape Russia" shot through the roof.
A partial mobilisation has been ordered by the president of Russia, which means that approximately 300,000 military reservists, but not conscripts, will be conscripted to strengthen Russia's troops, which have recently suffered setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The decision was made a day after seized regions of Ukraine announced that they will hold snap referendums on whether or not to join Russia.
In addition, Mr. Putin emphasized, in statements that Ukraine and its supporters criticized, that he would use "all possible means" to safeguard Russian territory, meaning that this might include the use of nuclear weapons.
