‘This is not our territory’: Startling unrest in Russian republics as thousands flee mobilisation
Vladimir Putin has for seven months insisted his invasion of Ukraine was only a special military operation.
That way he hoped the conflict would seem distant and contained to the broad Russian public.
With his military suffering setback after setback, a week ago he announced the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of reservists. But even that was qualified.
It was a partial mobilisation and so far the bulk of men being drafted are said to be from areas far from Moscow and in the Russian federation’s autonomous republics.
Putin faces ‘imminent defeat’ – Ukraine war latest
He will have hoped again that the bulk of ethnic Russians will still not feel directly affected by this latest escalation.
But it is not working out that way, it seems, not for hundreds of thousands of Russians across the country.
They’ve felt so strongly about his latest moves that they have left their homes and everything in them and made the long and difficult journey out of Russia. To Georgia, or to Mongolia and Kazakhstan or Finland, where so many Russians have crossed that the authorities have now closed the border to them.
As many have left in the past week as in the entire conflict. One young mother crossing into Georgia told Sky News that you cannot raise children in a country that sends men to kill against their will.
Others are less prepared to talk to news crews when they cross. Many of them are from those autonomous republics.
Areas such as Dagestan, in the north Caucasus, Buryat far to the east and Chechnya have suffered a disproportionately high amount of casualties in the Ukraine war and suspect the new mobilisation will mean an unfair number of their men are forced to join up.
Startling levels of unrest
There has been an unprecedented level of unrest in these republics in the last week. We have seen startling videos online of men headbutting policemen and kickboxing them in mass brawls.
And in deeply conservative Islamic areas of Russia, women have been so angry they have taken to the streets to chant “No more war” against police.
We were able to talk to a few men anonymously who come from these areas.
One from Dagestan would not show his face on camera, but said the situation there was getting worse. Young men, he said, were being forced into minibuses and sent for military training. He was getting out of Russia while he could.
Another man from Chechnya said zthat since Mr Putin’s mobilisation order “the mood of younger Chechens worsened. Everybody is trying as fast they can to leave Chechen territory, fearing they’ll be mobilised.”
He questioned the Kremlin’s logic in forcing men to fight against their will.
“I don’t think they’ll try hard because many of us think this isn’t our war and that Russia is an aggressor. This is not defending the interests of their motherland.”
He had been working hard to get Chechen men across the border.
‘I don’t really understand’
We filmed our interview at night and obscured his identity to avoid retribution by Chechen authorities back home against members of his family. Chechnya has been subject to brutal repression since its subjugation by Russia in two conflicts.
He said Russia was fighting a war and there was no other way of describing it.
So did another man who approached us under cover of darkness. A military veteran, he had fought for Russia and served four years, he said, but had just crossed the border to avoid being called up.
Mr Putin’s announcements showed Russia was not fighting a limited military operation, he said.
“I really don’t understand why I should go,” he told us. “This is not our territory. The fact they’re trying to mobilise this many people means it’s the start of something very serious.”
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He had comrades who had fought in Ukraine, he said, but their experience was far from encouraging.
“I have some friends who are in Ukraine and friends who have come back. But they’re not saying anything good about it.”
Mr Putin is doubling down on his war, but for an increasing number of Russians that has brought the conflict far closer to home.
It is provoking widespread unrest and a mass exodus. He is gambling that those downsides will be worth it, but he may be raising a fighting force of only dubious quality, hastily trained poorly equipped and reluctant to fight.
An Afghan man who worked for the British military has told Sky News he feels betrayed and has “completely lost (his) mind” after his identity was part of a massive data breach.
He told The World with Yalda Hakim about the moment he discovered he was among thousands of Afghans whose personal details were revealed, putting him at risk of reprisals from the Taliban.
The man, who spoke anonymously to Sky News from Afghanistan, says he worked with British forces for more than 10 years.
But now, he regrets working alongside those troops, who were first deployed to Afghanistan in 2001.
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Afghans being relocated after data breach
“I have done everything for the British forces … I regret that – why (did) I put my family in danger because of that? Is this is justice?
“We work for them, for [the] British, we help them. So now we are left behind, right now. And from today, I don’t know about my future.”
He described receiving an email warning him that his details had been revealed.
He said: “When I saw this one story… I completely lost my mind. I just thought… about my future… my family’s.
“I’ve got two kids. All my family are… in danger. Right now… I’m just completely lost.”
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The mistake by the Ministry of Defence in early 2022 ranks among the worst security breaches in modern British history because of the cost and risk posed to the lives of thousands of Afghans.
On Tuesday, a court order – preventing the media reporting details of a secret relocation programme – was lifted.
Read more from Sky News:
Minister defends handling of breach
The struggle for equality in Afghanistan
Afghan women throw babies to troops
Reuters file pic
Defence Secretary John Healey said about 6,900 Afghans and their family members have been relocated or were on their way to the UK under the previously secret scheme.
He said no one else from Afghanistan would be offered asylum, after a government review found little evidence of intent from the Taliban to seek retribution.
But the anonymous Afghan man who spoke to Sky News disputed this. He claimed the Taliban, who returned to power in 2021, were actively seeking people who worked with British forces.
“My family is finished,” he said. “I request… kindly request from the British government… the King… please evacuate us.
“Maybe tomorrow we will not be anymore. Please, please help us.”
World
Ross Edgley: The British ‘Thor’ swimming 1,000 miles around Iceland – and what happened when he met killer whales
Towering waves, freezing temperatures and even some inquisitive killer whales. Iceland is doing its best to defeat Ross Edgley.Â
Inspired by “Thor”, the British extreme athlete is in the middle of a challenge worthy of the Norse god – spending four months swimming 1,000 miles around the whole of Iceland in the name of science.
And while it comes with its challenges – a video of parts of his tongue falling off because of the salty sea water went viral – there have also been moments of beauty in the rugged Viking landscape.
“We’re on the northern coast right now,” Ross tells Sky News as he prepares to get back in the water.
“There’s nothing to stop the wind coming from the Arctic, and it’s just smashing into the north of Iceland. We’re miles out, just like a bobbing cork getting absolutely battered.”
Ross is making his way around Iceland clockwise after setting off from Reykjavik
Ross, from Cheshire, is no stranger to endurance events like this. In 2018, he swam nearly 1,800 miles around the coast of Great Britain and earned a Guinness World Record for swimming 317 miles along the Yukon River in Canada.
But the punishing cold as 39-year-old Ross swims 30km (18 miles) a day around Iceland is something else.
“The body just takes a consistent battering,” he says, characteristically cheery and enthusiastic despite everything.
“You just do your best to keep it in some sort of shape, controlling the inevitable breakdown of your body, hoping that you get back into Reykjavik.”
Some of the injuries Ross has picked up so far, and the salt water hinders healing
He’s eating between 10,000 and 15,000 calories a day – with pasta and his new favourite Icelandic liquorice as menu staples – just to keep going.
“You’re basically running through all of that food – I’m constantly saying it’s basically just an eating competition with a bit of swimming thrown in,” he chuckles. “But that’s genuinely what it is.”
His average day – storms permitting – sees Ross getting up and swimming for six hours, resting for six hours, and then getting back in the water to swim another six hours.
“You just do that on repeat. It’s really simple in theory, but brutal in reality.”
Ross is covering about 18 miles (30km) a day
To get ready for the cool Icelandic waters, Ross took inspiration from animals that have made it their home for thousands of years: whales and seals.
“I ended up putting on about 10-15 kilos of just pure fat. A bit of muscle as well but a lot of fat.
“When you look at what sort of animals survive in Iceland, there’s that idea of sea blubber. You want insulation, you want body fat.”
Perhaps unlike a seal however, Ross takes great care to defend the reputation of the killer whales that hunt in Icelandic seas.
“We’ve seen a lot, pods of them have come by and checked me out, wondering what the strange Englishman was doing in Icelandic waters, and then we went our separate ways.
“I want to combat some of the bad PR that orcas might have because there’s never been a verified case of an orca attacking a human in the wild. It just doesn’t exist.
“They’re amazing animals that deserve our respect and shouldn’t be feared.”
Ross back on board his support boat after swimming
There’s also a big scientific focus for Ross’s challenge as well.
“If we achieve this, it will achieve so much in terms of sports science – the first person to swim around Iceland. But that wasn’t a big enough reason to do it.”
Ross spoke to scientists who said that if he was “crazy enough” to want to do the swim, he would be able to collect daily samples of environmental DNA in the water, as well as levels of microplastics.
“By the end we’re just going to have this map of biodiversity around the whole coast of Iceland in a level of detail we’ve never really seen before. It’s going to be so comprehensive.
“So I think as the legacy of this swim, records and everything will be nice, but I actually think the science and the research that we contribute and give back will be unbelievable and actually make the chafing and losing parts of my tongue worth it.”
The swim is being paid for by a mix of sponsorships and self-funding.
Ross Edgley is swimming 1,000 miles around Iceland. Pic: James Appleton/BMW
Ross says he was inspired to take on the challenge in part by actor Chris Hemsworth and his role as the Norse god Thor, joking that the feat would be the closest thing to swimming around Asgard, the realm of the deities from ancient Scandinavia.
As he makes his way around the island, he gets to meet a local community where stories of Nordic gods are still an important part of life.
“It’s amazing, we’re just hearing these stories of Nordic folklore, sagas written about every single fjord we go around. It’s unbelievable.”
Ross and his team rest on land between swims
Fresh off one marathon swimming session, Ross and his team jumped into action to help the local community rescue 30 stranded whales.
“The team were absolutely exhausted… but having rescued the whales was the most rewarding moment as well.”
A moment of downtime on the boat. Pic: Ross Edgley/YouTube
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Ross set off on his swimming quest on 17 May, and it’s likely going to be a couple more months before he arrives back in Reykjavik.
He suggested that September is the goal, but added: “But you make plans and Iceland laughs at them.”
Picture credits: Ross Edgley/YouTube
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