Hundreds of drones targeted Moscow and its surrounding region on Sunday in what has been described as an "unprecedented attack", prompting Russians to flee the country amid fears that exit restrictions might be imposed.
The offensive occurred on the final day of the nation's parliamentary elections, with Russia now pledging to "intensify" its bombardment of Kyiv.
Russia vows to escalate strikes
The Russian defence ministry declared: "In response to the Kyiv regime's attacks on civilian targets within Russia, the Russian army will continue and intensify its high-accuracy strikes against military targets in Kyiv."
As the nation has promised to escalate its military campaign, Russian citizens are abandoning the country amid fears that exit restrictions might be imposed.
Surge in emigration requests
Some worry these limitations could be introduced should fresh military conscriptions take place, according to the anti-war project Ark.
Reports suggest there has been an enormous spike in requests for urgent emigration help from Russia since July, according to Euronews. Search terms including "how to leave" and "mobilisation" have soared to their highest levels since 2023.
Lessons from previous waves
Human rights campaigner and Ark project co-ordinator Jan Slovitsky, who is presently helping new arrivals in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, explained that Russians have drawn lessons from previous experiences.
He stated: "Since mid-July a wave of panic has been rising in Russia, linked to the risk of mobilisation, fuel shortages and lack of internet access."
"People are leaving in advance because they have seen what happened during previous waves. And Armenia is facing a migration crisis, if we are not already in the thick of it."
Documents also reveal that an electronic summons register now automatically initiates an exit ban, according to news.com.au. Despite this, Putin has dismissed mobilisation rumours as "utter nonsense".
Largest-ever drone attack
Ukraine's assault on Sunday has been characterised as the "largest-ever attack by enemy drones", with the capital's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin accusing Ukraine of attempting to disrupt the three-day election that is set to consolidate Putin's 26-year reign over Russia.
This followed warnings from European intelligence that Russia was planning to escalate its war against Ukraine and 'burn Europe', targeting NATO countries who support Ukraine. European leaders have been alerting that the Kremlin's war against the West is about to intensify, thereby heightening Russian residents' fears that military mobilisations will take place.
