European Council President Charles Michel urges EU countries to allow in Russian citizens who are fleeing conscription; queues of "10km" grow at border with Georgia; "sham" referendums held in four occupied parts of Ukraine.
Charles Michel, President of the European Council, has urged Europe to allow in Russian citizens who are fleeing conscription.
He said the EU should show an "openness to those who don't want to be instrumentalised by the Kremlin".
It comes days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation of around 300,000 military reservists for the war in Ukraine.
He told POLITICO: "In principle I think that… the European Union [should] host those who are in danger because of their political opinions.
"If in Russia people are in danger because of their political opinions, because they do not follow this crazy Kremlin decision to launch this war in Ukraine, we must take this into consideration.
"I agree on the idea that we should very quickly cooperate and coordinate because this is a new fact — this partial mobilisation."
For context: European Union members Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have already confirmed they will not offer refuge to fleeing Russians.
One-way flights out of Russia were rocketing in price and selling out fast after Mr Putin ordered the immediate call-up of reservists this week.
"A refusal to fulfil one's civic duty in Russia or a desire to do so does not constitute sufficient grounds for being granted asylum in another country", Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said.
There are long queues of cars attempting to leave Russia at various border points - as men of fighting age attempt to avoid conscription.
Last Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation of around 300,000 military reservists.
The BBC now reports there is a 10km queue at the border with Georgia.
Thousands are fleeing to avoid being sent to fight in Ukraine after the Kremlin declared a partial mobilisation.
One businessman flew to Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday after he decided not to wait to be drafted into the army.
"I don't know how to put it in mild words, he (Putin) is a war criminal," he said outside Istanbul international airport.
Many are travelling using tourist visas but say they have no intention of returning.
Russian couple Slava, 29, and Evgeniy, 35, left immediately after Mr Putin's declaration over the uncertainty they could be called to fight in the future.
Speaking from the crossing point at Vaalimaa, where queues are longer than normal, he said: "Technically I'm a student so I should not be afraid of being drafted but we have seen that things are changing very quickly so I assume there is a chance.
"I just wanted to be safe."
Our international correspondent Alex Rossi is in Moscow, where unrest is emerging following news of a partial mobilisation of military reservists.
He says the situation - which could see 300,000 men called up to fight in Ukraine - looks "more like mass conscription".
Rossi adds: "You can see that this is a massive escalation. The new number if they are successful in drafting all these people in will dwarf the number of the initial invasion.
"But the question is – will they actually manage to do it?
"There is resistance to it already. We've seen a number of Russian men of fighting age leaving the country.
"There are questions about whether or not... there will be some kind of closure of the borders imposed next week.
"There is the very real possibility of domestic unrest."
Shelling has continued to rain on northeastern Ukraine overnight.
Oleg Sinegubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, said settlements along the "border with the Russian Federation" were struck on Friday.
He said: "The Kupyan district suffers the most from shelling."
Mr Sinegubov added that five people had been injured in Kupyan in the last 24 hours, including two sisters aged 10 and 17.
"A 45-year-old man was injured in the Chuguyiv district," he said. "He was blown up by a mine while picking mushrooms.
"A similar accident happened to a 24-year-old resident of Izyum district, who was also picking mushrooms.
"I remind everyone once again that visiting the forests is now very dangerous due to the large number of mines and unexploded ammunition.
"Only in the past day, the State Emergency Service has defused 578 explosive objects in the region."
Last night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned a number of referendums being held in four occupied regions.
He also told those in Russian-controlled areas who have been conscripted into the army to "sabotage any activity of the enemy".
Mr Zelenskyy added: "Do the main thing - save your lives and help us weaken and destroy the occupiers."
You can watch more of the Ukrainian president's address below...
Military volunteer, Seva, greets news of the Russian mobilisation decree to call up of 300,000 army reservists with glee.
Thousands of miles from home Oksana finds an unexpected show of solidarity.
And in Kyiv, Ilyas reflects on the recent grim discovery of mass graveyards in liberated lands close to Kharkiv.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
This is the scene in Zaporizhzhia, where one was killed and 7 were injured following a Russian strike on a high-rise apartment building.
Bombardment has continued in the region, despite the majority of it being under Russian occupation - and a referendum taking place.
As we've been reporting, a number of "sham" referendums are being held in occupied regions of Ukraine between 23 and 27 September.
But what exactly are they asking - and where are they taking place?
Luhansk and Donetsk, eastern Ukraine
In the Donbas, which is largely occupied by Russian forces, people are being asked whether they "support" the self-proclaimed People's Republics' "accession to Russia as a federal subject".
Here, it is understood the ballot is being printed in Russian only.
Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, southern Ukraine
The situation is very slightly different in occupied parts of southern Ukraine.
People are being asked if they "favour the region's secession from Ukraine, creation of an independent country and subsequent accession to Russia as a federal subject".
The ballot is being printed in Ukrainian and Russian.
Below is the situation in Ukraine as the war enters a seventh month...
By Alex Rossi, correspondent in Moscow
A complete collapse of the Russian army is perhaps unlikely - in parts of Ukraine they've been dug in for years.
But the Russian President is facing enormous problems to restore momentum and initiative to his botched operation.
The partial mobilisation on Wednesday is a reflection of that panic.
Vladimir Putin has resisted such a move for months and has even gone on the record in the past to say it was not an option on the table.
It is now - and as many as 300,000 could be called up. Partial mobilisation is looking a lot like mass conscription.
For Russians who had largely ignored the war, the consequences of this disaster are coming home in the form of draft papers.
Many men of fighting age are voting with their feet and leaving the country.
There are fears martial law maybe imposed next week and the borders will close. More protests are also planned.
How big they'll be is difficult to gauge at this stage.
It's certainly too early to talk of a widespread anti-draft movement but the potential for domestic unrest is growing by the day.
This is a high risk strategy for Mr Putin in a war which he and his regime know they cannot afford to lose.
Russian authorities have allegedly started handing out draft notices to men of "conscription age who renounced Ukrainian citizenship" in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
It was added that those called up in southern parts - where "sham" referendums are being held on joining Russia - now have Russian passports.
It added: "Servicemen of the Russian occupation forces continue to commit illegal actions against the civilian population and engage in looting.
"According to available information, in Melitopol, the so-called 'Kadyrovtsy' seized a dealer's warehouse of agricultural machinery and are trying to sell off the property."
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