Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he addresses the nation in Moscow, Russia, on September 21, 2022.
Russian Presidential Press Service via AP
Putin announced a partial mobilization last week, meaning more Russian troops going to Ukraine.
Many Russians of military age are now desperately trying to get out of the country.
Some are paying up to $27,000 to escape on private jets, The Guardian reported.
Russians are paying up to $27,000 to escape the country on private jets after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of his country’s reservists last week, The Guardian reported.
Companies that offer private jet flights have reported a sharp increase in requests for one-way flights out of Russia, according to The Guardian.
They are now charging between $21,500 and $27,000 for a seat on a private plane, as per the report.
Russians are predominantly heading to countries that still allow them to enter without a visa, including Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, The Guardian reported.
Many European countries say they will not allow Russians fleeing mobilization to enter, and many had already blocked Russian tourists.
Yevgeny Bikov, the director of a broker jet company Your Charter, told The Guardian that they used to get around 50 requests a day, but this number has now increased to 5,000 a day.
“The situation is absolutely crazy at the moment,” he added.
Eduard Simonov, the CEO of aviation company FlightWay, told The Guardian that the demand for private jets has “increased by 50 times,” adding that they’re struggling to meet demands after EU sanctions earlier this year severely limited jet availability.
“All the European private jet firms have left the market. There is more demand than supply now and the prices are through the roof compared with six months ago,” Simonov said.
Simonov also said that it’s not only the rich that are looking into renting private jets, but that they are getting a “completely new client base … people who never flew private before.”
“There are many who had some extra money left and are looking to get away,” Simonov added.
Putin announced a partial mobilization of reservist troops last week as part of the next phase of his ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The announcement sparked panic among many Russians. Google searches for how to leave Russia surged, one-way plane tickets out of Moscow sold out, and satellite imagery shows long lines of cars at crossing points along Russia’s borders.
There are widespread fears of a border closures as the outflow of military-aged men out of Russia continues.
But the Kremlin’s official spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied to reporters on Monday that he had any knowledge of planned border closures.
“I don’t know anything about this. At the moment, no decisions have been taken on this,” he said, according to Reuters.