On September 21, for the first time in the history of modern Russia, mobilization was announced. Paragraph 7 of the mobilization decree, which prescribes the number of people to be mobilized, is classified. Officials say 300,000 people are to be mobilized, but some media reported, citing unnamed sources, that at least 1 million people are to be mobilized.

Thousands of cars stand in a 20-kilometer traffic jam in front of the border with Georgia. It takes up to 30 hours to get through. People with backpacks and minimal belongings walk day and night into the gorge of the Caucasus Mountains to get to the other side.