(Adnkronos) – Six Russian soldiers who fled the war in Ukraine have been granted temporary visas to apply for political asylum in France, in what human rights activists describe as the first major case of a group of deserters admitted to an EU country.
According to an organization that assists Russian deserters – the Guardian writes – the men arrived in Paris on separate flights in recent months, after initially fleeing Russia to Kazakhstan in 2022 and 2023. “When I landed in France, it was the first time I could breathe freely. I felt a sense of calm and freedom… the worst was behind me,” Alexander, a former Russian contract soldier who was sent to Ukraine and deserted in the summer of 2023, told the Guardian.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have deserted or refused orders to fight, according to human rights activists and groups that help soldiers flee. But the West has long grappled with whether to accept Russian soldiers who have deserted, with lingering questions about whether to treat them as heroes, potential security risks or war criminals.
