Over a million Russians banned from leaving the country amid mobilization, media report

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) border service database lists close to a million people who are forbidden to leave the country amid mobilization, reported independent outlets Baza and Astra, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

Russian border guards use this database when checking citizens traveling abroad. A few days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of the mobilization on 21 September, some 400,000 people were added to the database, according to media outlet Baza.

The database was then updated. The Astra media project recently cited the number of people on the list – there are allegedly 1,025,703 people currently banned from leaving Russia, according to a source cited by the outlet.