Men are fleeing Russia by land or air days after President Vladimir Putin said he was mobilizing more forces into Ukraine. NPR met Russians arriving in Turkey, where they don't need visas to enter.
Russians held scattered demonstrations across the country on Saturday despite threats of arrest and a heavy police presence. The Kremlin has ordered 300,000 more troops for the war in Ukraine.
The mobilization of thousands more troops to bolster the military campaign in Ukraine is rippling across Russia, as the military swiftly drafts new recruits and signs of discontent appear to spread.
Ukrainians are fleeing from Russian-held areas to avoid the sham referendums, which could pave the way for annexation. "It was all staged," said one Ukrainian. "How can you vote when they have guns?"
All of the chain's 100-plus locations in Ukraine closed after Russia invaded in February. Three reopened in Kyiv this week, for delivery only. "It's a nice gift from McDonald's," one customer says.
Villagers describe allegations of abuse and officials say they found a torture chamber in Kozacha Lopan, in the Kharkiv region, which Russian forces invaded and took over at the start of the war.
The Russian leader has already lost several big bets in Ukraine. He may be taking his largest risk yet by mobilizing more troops and pushing ahead with plans to annex Ukrainian territory.
The southern Mykolaiv region has seen targeted strikes, leading Ukrainian officials to round up hundreds of people suspected of leaking information to the Russians.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday a partial mobilization in Russia as the war in Ukraine reaches nearly seven months and Moscow loses ground on the battlefield.
Leaders of four separatist and partially Russian-occupied regions said they would hold referendums on whether to formally join Russia, starting as soon as Friday.
Thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced. Four-legged Ukrainians are also suffering, but there are groups working to help the animals.
In Ukraine's successful military offensive, the country again made the most of its lesser resources and also capitalized on Russian miscalculations. This scenario has played out multiple times.
On the outskirts of the recently liberated town of Izium, investigators have found what Ukrainian officials are calling a mass grave. It is now being inspected for possible evidence of war crimes.
In Sloviansk, many of those who remain are over 60. Social workers help with food, medicine and cleaning. An 86-year-old calls her social worker "Firefly," saying, "She brings light in a dark time."
Europe's largest nuclear plant will remain shut down until Russian forces leave, the head of Ukraine's atomic energy agency tells NPR. Under Russian occupation, he says, "staff cannot operate freely."
