Two Russians arrived in Alaska by sea on Tuesday and are asking for asylum in the United States, several officials from this arctic region very close to Russia confirmed on Thursday, a few weeks after the “partial mobilization” ordered by Vladimir Putin to continue the war in Ukraine. .
“Two Russian citizens arrived at a beach near Gambell”, a town on the US island of Saint Lawrence, located in the Bering Sea, about 65 kilometers from the Russian coast, Alaska senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan announced in a joint statement.
These two people “have requested asylum in the United States,” according to the press release.
“A small boat manned by two Russian citizens reached the shores of rural Alaska” on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to AFP. The case of these two Russians is being examined “in accordance with applicable US immigration laws,” he said.
“The Russian people do not want to fight”
This incident shows that “the Russian people do not want to fight Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” Senator Dan Sullivan was quoted as saying in the press release. The Republican-elect encouraged federal authorities to “have a plan ready with the Coast Guard, in case more Russians flee to Alaska’s Bering Strait communities.”
“We are in contact with federal officials and residents of Gambell to determine who these individuals are,” added Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski. For her, “this situation underscores the need for a stronger security posture in the American Arctic.”
In mid-September, Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization to reinforce his troops in Ukraine, involving some 300,000 reservists. This announcement caused in the following days a rush on the websites of the airlines to try to leave Russia as soon as possible. In Europe, the possible reception of Russian deserters has become a political issue in recent weeks among the different members of the Union.
As discontent mounts in Russia over an often chaotic mobilization, the Russian president in late September acknowledged “mistakes that must be corrected” and called for “bringing home those who have been summoned without adequate reason.”
Source: BFM TV
