MOSCOW - Around 100,000 IT specialists have left Russia this year, an official said Tuesday, following the start of Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine on Feb 24.

Young Russians fled the country in droves, especially those working in the IT sector and able to work remotely, sparking fears of a brain drain.

Some months later, the announcement of the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of men in late September triggered another wave of departures.

“Up to 10 per cent of employees of IT companies have left the country and have not returned. In total, around 100,000 IT specialists are abroad,” the minister for digital development, Maksut Shadayev, was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

According to him, 80 per cent of those who left continue to work for Russian companies remotely.

The minister did not give a reason for the departures but recommended not imposing “strict restrictions” on remote work to avoid “pushing them to seek work in foreign companies”.

The majority of Russians who left have arrived in neighbouring countries, such as Armenia, Georgia and Kazakhstan, but also Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. AFP