Russian couples hug in tearful goodbyes before men are forced into Ukraine war as European Council chief says EU should give asylum to those fleeing Putin’s press gangs

• Families spotted saying their last goodbyes as recruits are sent off to front lines
• More than 300,000 reservists and prisoners mobilised in desperate Putin effort
• EU president Charles Michel: bloc should offer asylum to Russia war objectors
• It came as Russia began to stage ‘referendums’ in Moscow-held parts of Ukraine

Russian couples have been forced to say heartbreaking goodbyes as hundreds of thousands of army reservists and prisoners are sent to Ukraine, new images show.

Train stations and army checkpoints have become the scene for tear-jerking separations, often involving young couples – and men who don’t want to fight.

Putin’s failing invasion of the neighbouring country has prompted a new partial mobilisation of 300,000 men – including prisoners and even attempts to recruit the dead.

A young Russian recruit and his partner kiss outside a recruitment centre in Volgograd today

One young woman looks despondent as her boyfriend prepares to enlist in Putin’s army

Families were seen saying goodbye to each other as Russia’s partial mobilisation continues

Protests in major cities broke out following the Kremlin leader’s announcement of the troop surge, while queues at the nation’s borders have appeared as young men attempt to flee.

Soldiers have also been spotted drinking and brawling on their way to training. 

European Council president Charles Michel advised EU members yesterday to offer asylum to conscientious objectors leaving Russia to avoid the draft.

A mother of one young soldier wipes tears away as he is bussed to a training camp to prepare

A tearful dad holds his child as he readies to say goodbye and fight on the front lines in Ukraine

The EU should be open ‘to those who don’t want to be instrumentalised by the Kremlin’, he said.

‘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’, he told Politico.

Estonian foreign minister Urmas Reinsalu earlier said: ‘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.’ 

The man embraces his mother as police and fellow recruits watched on in Volgograd today

It came as Ukrainians in Russian-held parts of the country were visited by soldiers and ordered to vote in ‘referendums’ that have been widely condemned by international observers.

One poll branded ‘ridiculous’ saw a supposed 97 per cent in Donetsk and Luhansk in favour of joining Russia.

Ballot boxes have also been opened across Russia itself, ostensibly to allow displaced Ukrainians to vote.

But in reality they offer more opportunities for vote-rigging.

Melinda Simmons, the British Ambassador to Ukraine, said that the outcome of the elections had ‘already been decided’ and described the ‘sham’ referendums as a ‘media exercise designed to pursue further an illegal invasion by Russia’.

The votes nevertheless mark a significant development in the war as the sham results will allow Putin to spin a narrative that any Ukrainian attempts to reclaim those territories is an assault on Russia itself.

That expands the suite of options he can use in response to ‘defend’ his territory – including, perhaps, nuclear weapons.

It would also allow Putin to upgrade his ‘special military operation’ to a full-blown war, expanding his powers to conscript men and punish those who try to quit.

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