The Russian authorities have arrested hundreds, amid continuing protests in various regions of the country against the "partial mobilization" of the reserve forces, according to an independent human rights organization.
The Russian human rights organization OVD-Info reported that 724 people were arrested on Saturday in 32 cities.
The protests erupted after President Vladimir Putin announced that 300,000 people had been called up to fight in Ukraine.
Russian law prohibits unauthorized gatherings.But Putin's decision to call up civilians for war sparked a wave of protests in urban areas, with police arresting 1,000 people in protests earlier this week.
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And Agence France-Presse reported that one of the demonstrators in Moscow was shouting, "We are not fuel for war," among them she was arrested by police.
In Saint Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, a man told reporters: "I don't want to fight for Putin."
Agence France-Presse quoted Natalia Dubova, aged 70, as saying that she opposes the war, and stated that she "fears for young people from conscription."
It was reported that some detainees were handed their recruitment papers and were ordered to join the army while they were in the hands of the police. The Kremlin defended these practices earlier this week, claiming that they "are not against the law."
Moscow also imposed severe penalties on those accused of abandoning the duty of conscription.
On Saturday, Putin signed new orders requiring 10 years in prison for every soldier who surrenders, tries to desert or refuses to fight.
The president also signed an order granting Russian citizenship to every foreign citizen who enlisted for a year to fight in the Russian army.
Some see this, which skips the requirement to reside in the country for years, as evidence of the severe human shortage in the Russian army.
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Many young Russians seek to escape conscription by leaving the country.
The length of the Russians' queues in their cars on the border with Georgia reached 30 kilometers, while the Ministry of the Interior urged citizens not to travel.
Russian local officials acknowledged that there was a large wave of cars trying to leave the country. At one crossing point, there were 2,500 cars.
This admission indicates a change in the tone of the rhetoric in Russia, as the Kremlin on Thursday described reports of Russians deserting conscription as "fake news."