6 Russian soldiers received visas in France, escaping from war in Ukraine - The Guardian

Human rights activists talk about the first time when a group of Russian deserters adopted in the EU country. Six Russian soldiers who escaped from the war in Ukraine received temporary visas in France. They asked for political asylum in the country. Human rights activists call it the first major case where a deserter group was admitted to the EU country. The Guardian writes about it.

According to the organization that helped to escape the soldiers and according to the stories of deserters, they have arrived in Paris with separate flights for the last few months. And initially moved from Russia to Kazakhstan in 2022 and 2023. "When I landed in France, it was the first time I could breathe on full breasts. I felt calm and freedom . . . The worst was behind," former Russian contractor Alexander told reporters. He was sent to Ukraine and deserted in the summer of 2023.

From the beginning of the invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine tens of thousands of soldiers have been deserted or refused to execute the order to fight, human rights activists and other persons who provide assistance to the soldiers informed. But in the West, they decided for a long time whether it was worth taking the Russians who were deserted. British journalists say the question remained: whether they treat them as heroes, potential security threats, or war criminals.

The EU has publicly discussed asylum Russian deserters, but the corresponding decision was never made. It was difficult to get deserthram shelter. "This is the first time that the EU country has missed a group of deserters that did not have travel documents or passports," said Ivan Chuvilyev, a representative of the "Children's Forest" organization that helps to desert Russian soldiers and deal with six soldiers.

Not having the opportunity to go to Europe and faced with the prospect of prolonged prison imprisonment at home, most deserters flee to countries bordering the Russian Federation, such as Armenia and Kazakhstan, where they can enter without a passport. But in these countries they do not have the opportunity to continue their way. Moscow makes a lot of effort to track deserters.

The number of cases where they try to hide in the post -Soviet countries is increasing, but the long hand of the Kremlin is reached. There have been cases where these people were abducted or deported back to Russia. "In Kazakhstan, you will never be able to feel safe; you just need to no way out," said Alexander, who told about life without a SIM card or bank account to avoid tracking from Russia.