٠٠:٠٣:٢٠A huge traffic jam was seen at the Mashtakovo checkpoint on the Samara-Uralsk highway between Russia and Kazakstan, stretching for many kilometres, as Russians tried to avoid the military draft under recent partial mobilisation measures.
Footage taken on Tuesday and Wednesday showed lines of trucks, cars and motorcycles heading towards the border, with some people even walking along the highway.
One eyewitness reported on Wednesday that he had been stuck since Sunday, when the queue was about 30 km long, while he estimated he was still around 7 km from the border.
The footage also shows a traffic jam at the checkpoint on the Kazakhstan side, with people arriving at the train station in Uralsk, and queuing for documents. Ilya Altynov, who arrived in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, said he had spent four days waiting at the border.
"There was a huge traffic jam to the border. Yesterday we crossed the border (to the checkpoint) at 8 pm (15:00 GMT) and only today at 9 am (04:00 GMT) we (finally) crossed the border," he explained.
Since September 21, about 98,000 Russian citizens have arrived in Kazakhstan, while 64,234 of them then left the country, according to the country’s interior ministry on Tuesday.
President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev announced that Kazakhstan will hold talks on the situation with the Russian side. On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that a telephone conversation between the Russian president and the Kazakh leader was not yet planned.
Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilisation of 300,000 reservists on Wednesday, saying it was to protect the sovereignty of both Russia and the four areas holding votes on joining the federation.
The election commissions of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LPR and DPR), as well as those in Zaporozhye and Kherson announced this week that all four had voted overwhelmingly to join Russia.
Ukraine and its Western allies condemned those votes as a 'sham', while President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to continue the fight, accusing Russia of trying to 'steal' his territory.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Traffic jams at Mashtakovo checkpoint on Russia - Kazakhstan border as Russians reportedly attempt to avoid mobilisation
A huge traffic jam was seen at the Mashtakovo checkpoint on the Samara-Uralsk highway between Russia and Kazakstan, stretching for many kilometres, as Russians tried to avoid the military draft under recent partial mobilisation measures.
Footage taken on Tuesday and Wednesday showed lines of trucks, cars and motorcycles heading towards the border, with some people even walking along the highway.
One eyewitness reported on Wednesday that he had been stuck since Sunday, when the queue was about 30 km long, while he estimated he was still around 7 km from the border.
The footage also shows a traffic jam at the checkpoint on the Kazakhstan side, with people arriving at the train station in Uralsk, and queuing for documents. Ilya Altynov, who arrived in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, said he had spent four days waiting at the border.
"There was a huge traffic jam to the border. Yesterday we crossed the border (to the checkpoint) at 8 pm (15:00 GMT) and only today at 9 am (04:00 GMT) we (finally) crossed the border," he explained.
Since September 21, about 98,000 Russian citizens have arrived in Kazakhstan, while 64,234 of them then left the country, according to the country’s interior ministry on Tuesday.
President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev announced that Kazakhstan will hold talks on the situation with the Russian side. On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that a telephone conversation between the Russian president and the Kazakh leader was not yet planned.
Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilisation of 300,000 reservists on Wednesday, saying it was to protect the sovereignty of both Russia and the four areas holding votes on joining the federation.
The election commissions of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LPR and DPR), as well as those in Zaporozhye and Kherson announced this week that all four had voted overwhelmingly to join Russia.
Ukraine and its Western allies condemned those votes as a 'sham', while President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to continue the fight, accusing Russia of trying to 'steal' his territory.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
A huge traffic jam was seen at the Mashtakovo checkpoint on the Samara-Uralsk highway between Russia and Kazakstan, stretching for many kilometres, as Russians tried to avoid the military draft under recent partial mobilisation measures.
Footage taken on Tuesday and Wednesday showed lines of trucks, cars and motorcycles heading towards the border, with some people even walking along the highway.
One eyewitness reported on Wednesday that he had been stuck since Sunday, when the queue was about 30 km long, while he estimated he was still around 7 km from the border.
The footage also shows a traffic jam at the checkpoint on the Kazakhstan side, with people arriving at the train station in Uralsk, and queuing for documents. Ilya Altynov, who arrived in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, said he had spent four days waiting at the border.
"There was a huge traffic jam to the border. Yesterday we crossed the border (to the checkpoint) at 8 pm (15:00 GMT) and only today at 9 am (04:00 GMT) we (finally) crossed the border," he explained.
Since September 21, about 98,000 Russian citizens have arrived in Kazakhstan, while 64,234 of them then left the country, according to the country’s interior ministry on Tuesday.
President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev announced that Kazakhstan will hold talks on the situation with the Russian side. On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that a telephone conversation between the Russian president and the Kazakh leader was not yet planned.
Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilisation of 300,000 reservists on Wednesday, saying it was to protect the sovereignty of both Russia and the four areas holding votes on joining the federation.
The election commissions of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LPR and DPR), as well as those in Zaporozhye and Kherson announced this week that all four had voted overwhelmingly to join Russia.
Ukraine and its Western allies condemned those votes as a 'sham', while President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to continue the fight, accusing Russia of trying to 'steal' his territory.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.