Ukraine declared a full mobilisation at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, banning military-age men from leaving the country so that they could be called up to fight at any time. Days after Russia attacked, so many people were lining up to head to the front line that military commissariats were turning some away. But not everyone wants to fight. As the war drags on and the casualties mount, many are looking for ways to avoid it.

With Russia in retreat on the battlefield, Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the stakes on Wednesday with the announcement that Russian reservists would be mobilised and referendums held in areas of Ukraine on joining Russia, all while he made threats to the West.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, it deployed 160,000 troops. Vladimir Putin has now called up 300,000 after major setbacks in Ukraine, while coupling his announcement with his most overt nuclear threat to the West.