Russian citizens who receive military draft notices and who are banned from leaving Russia will also be unable to exit the country through Belarus, Belarusian border authorities confirmed on Wednesday.
The State Border Committee told Belarusian outlet Belsat that the two countries operate a shared database of individuals subject to travel restrictions and use a simplified, integrated border-control system.
“If there is no exit ban imposed by the Russian Federation and all documents are in order, they will be allowed to leave,” the committee said. “If the person is in the database, they will not be allowed to leave.”
Officials stressed that Belarus does not independently decide on restrictions but enforces data received from Russian authorities.
The confirmation comes after human rights group Movement of Conscientious Objectors reported the first known case of a Russian conscript being denied exit through Belarus after receiving a draft notice.
The man, a resident of St. Petersburg, had been ordered to appear for a medical examination on April 29. Shortly after receiving the notice, an automatic travel ban appeared in Russia’s electronic conscription registry.
Rights activists say the situation points to deeper integration of Russian and Belarusian border systems, including simplified data sharing that allows restrictions imposed in Russia to be automatically reflected at Belarusian checkpoints.
Russia and Belarus have, in recent years, steadily aligned their border and migration control systems as part of their so-called Union State framework.
Citizens of both countries can cross the shared border without formal passport control, but authorities maintain coordinated digital databases for individuals flagged for military, security, or legal restrictions.
Previously, this system allowed some Russian conscripts to leave Russia via Belarus and then fly to third countries from Belarusian airports, effectively bypassing Russian exit controls.
That option now appears to be closing, as Belarusian border services automatically enforce Russian-issued travel bans.
The change is seen by rights groups as shutting down one of the last remaining escape routes for draft-age Russians seeking to avoid conscription.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia is planning to expand its mobilization efforts as it attempts to replenish manpower losses in its invasion of Ukraine.
He said Ukrainian intelligence has obtained internal Russian military documents showing that Russia’s General Staff acknowledges it is failing to meet Kremlin-set objectives, as Ukraine continues to weaken Russia’s offensive capacity.
In a statement on Tuesday following a briefing by Defense Intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko, Zelensky said Ukrainian forces are inflicting “irrecoverable losses” approaching 60% of total Russian casualties, significantly undermining Moscow’s ability to sustain operations.
“Accordingly, Ukraine’s task is to further increase the share of irrecoverable losses inflicted on the occupier,” he said, adding that Kyiv will expand drone operations along the front line and intensify long-range strikes against Russia’s weapons production and energy infrastructure.