Two Russians fleeing mobilization in Russia sailed to Alaska by boat and asked for asylum in the United States.
This is reported by Reuters.
The men were found near a town in Alaska about 64 kilometers from the Russian coast. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said they were being interrogated.
"We donʼt expect a continuous flow of people or a flotilla of people. We donʼt have any indication that this will happen, so [the case] could be a one-off," he stated.
Russian mass media reported that the Russian embassy in Washington is aware of the fugitives and plans to have a telephone conversation with two of its citizens in the near future.
“People have been flown to Anchorage for screening, which includes a screening and vetting process. They will then be dealt with in accordance with the U.S. immigration law," said a representative of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
- On September 21, Putin announced a partial mobilization in Russia, supported the holding of pseudo-referendums in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and threatened nuclear weapons in case of an attack on the Russian Federation.
- Due to mobilization, Russians began to actively flee the country. In British intelligence, it is believed that in one week, more people fled to the Russian Federation from the mobilization than Russia had in its troops in February — at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.