Huge 10-Mile Line of People Trying to Escape Russia Visible from Space

A traffic line going back almost 16 kilometers (nearly 10 miles) has been formed at the border between Russia and Georgia as citizens attempt to flee the country.

Maxar Technologies, the U.S. company that created the satellite imagery, said: "The traffic jam likely continued further to the north of the imaged area," according to CNN.

The TPYXA Twitter page, which provides the latest information on the situation in Ukraine, also shared the image on its page.

"The border with Georgia from space today looks like this," read a caption for the picture that was shared early on Tuesday morning.

"Maxar satellite images show a queue of Russians over 16km [almost 10 miles] long. Mobilization forced more than 115,000 people to go abroad."

This mass exodus follows on from a speech made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday where he said the country would be taking part in a "partial mobilization" against Ukraine.

On the same day that Putin made the video speech, flights to Armenia, Turkey and Georgia sold out.

"All tickets for direct flights to Istanbul and Yerevan were sold out in a few minutes after Putin's address," Russian online newspaper Lenta wrote in a caption on Twitter.

The publication also shared screenshots of the pages and how they could not be booked, while, after Putin made his speech, Russia's railway site also began experiencing difficulties.

While some citizens tried to leave the country to avoid conscription, others took to protest in the streets across Russia.

Demonstrations have broken out nationwide against the war and Putin's "partial mobilization" effort, with protesters holding banners that read "No to war" and "No mobilization."

At least 1,386 people have been arrested in 38 cities across Russia since Putin's announcement, according to the human-rights project OVD-Info.

In response to the protests in cities around Russia, an ally of Putin threatened to send relatives of anti-war protesters to the frontline in Ukraine.

Chechen Republic leader Ramzan Kadyrov, replying to a protest against Putin's partial mobilization staged by several dozen women in Grozny on Wednesday, called them "enemies of the people" and threatened to send their relatives to the war.

In a video posted to his Telegram channel, Kadyrov said: "Some people write that it is necessary to go out against partial mobilization.

"Under these conditions, no one should discuss the decision [of Putin] but must comply, so I urge everyone not to engage in nonsense. And those who will go out [to protest], they are enemies of the people,"

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.