Large queues have formed at the Russian-Georgian border near the Verkhniy Lars checkpoint. Over 20,000 people passed through the checkpoint in one day—the Russian Federal Customs Service has called this a record.

High passenger traffic has been ongoing for several days. On August 15 and 16, over 19,000 people passed through Verkhniy Lars per day. The Federal Customs Service stated that the current figures "significantly exceed the figures for similar periods in previous years."

Eyewitnesses report kilometers-long queues on the Russian side. According to them, vehicles are barely moving: it takes two hours to move about 100 meters. Some passengers also reported long waits on neutral territory and to clear Russian security.
The Federal Customs Service reported that due to the demand, it has increased shifts at the checkpoint and brought in additional staff to increase its capacity.

However, the 20,000-person figure requires clarification. The Federal Customs Service counts all passenger traffic through the checkpoint in both directions, not just those leaving Russia for Georgia. On August 19, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that 7,880 people entered Georgia through Verkhniy Lars over the previous 24 hours, while 8,406 people exited Russia. The Georgian ministry dismissed reports of 20,000 people arriving from Russia as false.

"The above information is untrue and serves to deliberately spread misinformation by certain interested parties," the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs commented on the Russian report.

The sharp increase in traffic occurs during the peak holiday season. Verkhniy Lars has already become a destination for mass departures from Russia: in the fall of 2022, after the announcement of mobilization, queues tens of kilometers long formed at the Georgian border.