use of nuclear weapons, and he referenced there being a nuclear weapons document in russia that would determine when they would use such weapons, not giving a whole lot of new meat on the bone. but there was an interesting back and forth with one reporter who asked about president putin, saying that he had received some questions and concerns from president xi of china about the war in ukraine. and listen to what he said during that back and forth. i m asking you, are you coming under any pressure? i don t know, i m asking. no, no, no, no. you asked me what about, how do we feel under pressure from china? look, let s be honest are you coming under any pressure from china? you may tell your readers, listeners, viewers, that i avoided to answer your question. reporter: obviously pressure from china is something that the russian foreign minister didn t want to talk about today. we should note that the chinese foreign minister also delivered remarks here at the united
hello and welcome. friday, september 23rd. 9 a.m. here in london. 11 a.m. in ukraine. voting begins today in the four occupied regions on whether to become a part of the russian federation. the areas make up about 50% of ukraine s territory. if they join russia many believe that will provide vladimir putin the pretexts to claim russian territory is under attack and escalate the war. it s prompting people to flee the country in all directions. a long line of cars backed up at russia s border with finland. the government in helsinki is thinking of new restrictions to keep russians from entering. they re crossing into armenia and turkey. according to one witness, traffic at one checkpoint stretched 5 to 6 kilometers. it was a similar scene along the border with kazakhstan. trucks lined up as far as the eye could see. ticket prices are soaring for flights out of moscow. most of which is sold out for the next few days. the kremlin calls reports exaggeration and fake news. the mobi
sparked protests across russia leading to more than 130 0 arrests. we ve seen the emotional farewells. look at this, russian men leaving behind families to board buses for military service. others trying to get out of the country altogether. in this video long lines of traffic are growing as men seemingly are trying to escape the war. the demand for flights out of moscow is spiking dramatically. tickets to countries where russians don t need a visa are sold out. and on google trends the term leaving russia saw a spike in searches over the past 24 hours. according to a ticket agri gaiter one way tickets out of moscow to istanbul start at $2,000 a ticket. before putin s announcement, the tickets cost about $350. let s bring in ben wedeman live for us in kharkiv, ukraine. you re in the region where the gains by the ukrainians seem to have prompted this new phase by vladimir putin, ben. reporter: ye and you know, as these referendums go ahead. yesterday we were in areas occup
world, many countries, slam the move as sham elections. this comes as vladimir putin faces an uprising from his own people over his planned mobilization. and the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelenskyy, is saying that he wants russians to revolt against their government. that s right. putin s draft order sparking huge angry protests across the country, leading to more than 1,300 arrests. and now some russians are leaving the country entirely, one way or another. as men try to escape this war. we are seeing long lines of traffic buildup at border crossings and several neighboring countries. as for those who are deciding to try to fight, they are saying good-bye to loved ones, as they leave behind their families to board buses for military service. so let s begin in ukraine. our international security editor, nick paton walsh joins us from kramatorsk. nick, what can you tell us from the ground? reporter: yeah, certainly, these i can t even call them votes, to be honest
own country. russian men fleeing russia to avoid military mobilization. now the kremlin is calling these reports an exaggeration and fake news, and you may say, are they right? no, they are not, because the pictures don t low. let s show you what s actually happening on the ground. i ll put up the map to show the routes outside of russia. you see the dotted lines. okay, so as you get to each of these crossings, there are long lines eof cars waiting. that s what it looks like. here s the scene in finland. officials now reconsidering banning most russians from entering the country because of the traffic. in georgia, brake lights for as far as the eye can see. reports now that the exit line stretches more than six miles. and this was the scene earlier today along the russian border with kazakhstan. most of the traffic going in just one direction, out of russia. at moscow s main airport, lines. look at that. how many women do you see? not have many. young men fleeing russia. for