Russia orders airlines, airport staffs compulsory military enlistment

Moscow: Airlines employees and those who work at airports in Russia were asked for compulsory enlistment in the military, according to a Russian newspaper. The employees of at least five airlines and ten airports were ordered to report to the military registration and enlistment offices, NDTV reported citing Kommersant newspaper.

The development happened after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilisation of the country's military reserves on Wednesday, and many men fled the country after that.

The Kommersant report suggested that within a day of the mobilisation order, staff of Russia's top airlines Aeroflot Group and four others, along with ten airports, received summon to join the military. Sources from three companies suggested that 50 to 80 per cent of employees were conscripted.

A source from the Aeroflot Group said that about half of its employees could be recruited. However, the company has not responded on the matter, but the report suggests that it has formed working teams to prepare lists for reservations in various specialities.

Apart from that, at least five airlines have started compiling lists of employees who will be exempted from the draft. Two companies have prepared those lists, and one sent o to the local administration while the other to the Ministry of Transport. The report said that the exemption is said to be critical for air controllers, pilots, and other commercial, technical, and IT specialists.

On Wednesday, Putin announced on TV that the country's partial military mobilisation was to defend Russia and its territories. He claimed that the West wanted to destroy his country while having no wish to restore peace in Ukraine.