Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin reportedly banned government officials from leaving Russia without special permission.
Permits can be issued by Mishustin only for official trips, Russian media outlet The Bell reported.
According to the media, the restrictions don’t apply to employees of Russia’s Presidential Administration.
Earlier, Financial Times reported that Russian security services want to prevent executives of Russia’s state companies and government officials from leaving abroad by confiscating their passports amid growing fears of defections.
“There are stricter rules for this (travel abroad). In some places they are formalized and in some places they depend on a specific decision . . . about specific employees,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the Financial Times.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
