Images of people being taken off sports halls to be enrolled in the Russian army! It happened during a training session in a gym in southeast Moscow. The men present at the training were suddenly told to lie down on the ground, while the women were allowed to leave.
This was not part of their training, but rather an instruction from the Russian police who were hunting down illegal immigrants and military personnel who did not comply with the mobilization, according to the Telegraph.
Such “raids” have been reported in several cities in Russia for several weeks, even before Vladimir Putin signed the order to recruit 160,000 people as part of the country’s biennial mobilization, the largest since 2011.
According to witnesses, the police divide those present in the gym into Russian citizens and foreigners. Russians are taken to enlistment offices, where their military records are checked.
Those who are not Russian citizens are accused of immigration violations and are given a choice: deportation or enlistment in the army, according to Current Time, an independent news platform in Russia.
According to the publication, witnesses have stated that women were allowed to leave, while men were separated by ethnicity or nationality before being asked to present their documents.
“I was on the treadmill, watching [a show], minding my own business. Suddenly, someone taps me on the shoulder. I get off the treadmill and see everyone lying face down on the floor,” said a gym participant to Telegram channel.
VIDEO, HERE