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The day Russia's mobilisation met a prisoner swap
Summary
A look back at 22 September 2022, when departures from Russia, a large prisoner exchange and a deadly market strike in Donetsk unfolded together.
What did the first full day after Russia's mobilisation announcement look like? On 22 September 2022, it was visible at the borders, in the price of flights and in a prisoner exchange that brought some unexpected names home.
A mobilisation takes hold
On 21 September, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation in a major address to the nation. Students and conscripts were exempted. A day earlier, State Duma deputies had approved changes to the Criminal Code introducing the concepts of mobilisation, martial law, wartime and armed conflict, along with punishment for desertion.
By 22 September, large numbers of fighting-age men were leaving Russia. Long traffic jams built up at international border crossings, and the price of tickets for international flights rose sharply.
The reaction abroad was swift. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on 21 September that the mobilisation was dangerous and reckless, and he condemned what he called Putin's nuclear rhetoric. Lithuania placed its rapid reaction force on high alert in response, according to Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas.
An exchange mediated by Turkey and Saudi Arabia
The same day brought a prisoner exchange. Ukraine and Russia released 55 Russian prisoners of war and 215 fighters from the Siege of Mariupol, in a deal mediated by Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Those freed included the pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk and Azov Regiment commander Denys Prokopenko. British volunteers Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner were also released, as was Moroccan volunteer Saadun Brahim.
Deadly shelling in Donetsk
Violence continued as well. Authorities of the Donetsk People's Republic accused Ukraine of shelling a market in Donetsk, saying six civilians were killed.
A day of several threads
Taken together, 22 September 2022 showed the war moving on more than one track: a mobilisation that prompted departures and alarm in neighbouring states, a negotiated release of hundreds of prisoners, and continued attacks that cost civilian lives.
