Mongolia Also Reports Thousands Of Russian Men Entering Since Putin Ordered Call-Up.

Mongolian border guards check vehicles arriving from Russia at the Mongolian border checkpoint of Altanbulag on September 25.

There were long lines of cars at a border crossing from Russia to Mongolia on September 25, with thousands of new arrivals to that East Asian country since a Kremlin call-up announcement threatened Russian men with conscription.

The increase in Russian traffic to Mongolia comes amid reports of similar crowding to leave Russia via land routes for Finland, Georgia, and Armenia since President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization on September 21.

Western military experts estimate that Russia has lost tens of thousands of casualties so far in its seven-month-old invasion of Ukraine.

AFP quoted the head of a checkpoint in the Mongolian town of Altanbulag as saying more than 3,000 Russians had crossed into Mongolia there in the past five days, about five out of six of them men.

"From September 21, the number of Russian citizens entering Mongolia has increased," the checkpoint commander said.

There were lines of people with Russian passports at the immigration counter.

Russians can stay 30 days visa-free in Mongolia, and may extend for another 30 days once there.

The call-up is Russia's first since World War II.

Nearly 800 people had been detained amid protests in Moscow and dozens of other cities against Putin's mobilization order by September 24, according to humanitarian group OVD-Info .

Russian media have shown police using force against demonstrators, and eyewitnesses have said the number of protesters have diminished since the first rallies.

Many young men detained during the protests have reportedly been summoned to register for military service.

Flights in Russia also filled up and ticket prices skyrocketed to places like Istanbul and other foreign destinations after the call-up was announced.

Based on reporting by AFP