Another Russian deserter applied for asylum in Norway

A soldier of the Russian Federation, who broke through the border with Norway on Friday, submitted an asylum application on Saturday. This is not the first case when they escaping from sending to the front in Ukraine, try to take refuge in Norway.

The Russian was detained by border guards in the north of the country, near the Jakobselva River. He admitted that he served in the Russian army and fought in Ukraine, but before the next round on the front he decided to desert and escape to Norway.

On Saturday, he submitted a request for asylum, because he no longer wanted to participate in the war, and for returning after arbitrarily moving away from the unit, he was to be sent to the front in a penalty battalion and in his opinion some death.

After the Kremlin announced partial mobilization in the autumn of 2022, the number of asylum conclusions submitted by Russians staying in Norway clearly increased. In 2021, 12 of them were submitted, and in the next 12 months the immigration authorities recorded them 294. However, most were rejected by Norway.

In November 2022, a member of the Wagner Group Andrey Medvedev escaped through the “green border” to Norway. The authorities rejected his asylum application, justifying that he was not a member of regular military units of the Russian Federation. However, he was not deported after he offered the provision of information to the Norwegian services regarding the Russian armed forces and the war crimes they committed in Ukraine.

From Oslo Mieszko Czarnecki (PAP)

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