The escape route for Russian soldiers wishing to flee the fighting in Ukraine is complex and fraught with danger. Deserters face harsh punishment under Russian law, and it is almost impossible for them to travel to “safe” countries outside the Kremlin’s sphere of influence.
The six soldiers arrived in France separately in recent months after initially fleeing from Russia to Kazakhstan. It was the first time any EU country has allowed a group of deserters entry without travel documents or foreign passports, the Guardian reported on Thursday.
“When I landed in France, it was the first time I could breathe fully. I felt a sense of calmness and freedom … the worst was behind me,” Alexander, a former Russian contract soldier who deserted during the summer of 2023, told the British newspaper.
Options other than fighting
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, almost 7,400 soldiers have been tried in military courts for going AWOL, and the number of cases rises each month, Russian independent media site Mediazona reported in April.
This figure is thought to be a fraction of the total number of deserters – never mind those who want to desert but are too afraid.
“This case in France is really important to show soldiers that they have other options than to go to Ukraine and kill people there,” said Anastasia Burakova, founder of The Ark, an organisation that supports Russians who oppose the war in Ukraine both inside Russia and in exile.
The European Union has discussed the prospect of offering asylum to draft evaders and deserters from the Russian army since the start of the invasion, but never made a formal decision.
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Meanwhile, many deserters have been living in perilous conditions.
Go By The Forest is an organisation dedicated to helping Russian soldiers who choose not to participate in the war. In March 2024, it told Mediazona that 30 percent of the 520 soldiers it has helped were hiding in Russia. The rest had fled abroad.
Under Russian laws, which President Vladimir Putin strengthened following his Ukraine invasion, desertion during wartime is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. In Ukraine, there are reports of Russian soldiers who refuse to fight being held in pits and basements for days on end by superior officers.
For deserters who do manage to leave Russia, options are limited. As serving troops are not in possession of their passports, deserters can only travel to former Soviet countries that do not require papers, such as Armenia, Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan.
But once they arrive, “it’s not safe for them”, Burakova said.
“It’s really difficult to find a job, to have an income,” she said. “They can’t have any legal status. They can’t leave the country. And also, they’re at high risk of being kidnapped.”
Russian deserter Dmitri Sedrakov was illegally captured by Russian forces in Armenia on December 7, 2023, before being taken back to Russia. Others have been extradited from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
Organisations such as The Ark can help defectors reach these former Soviet states. “But we can’t promise them that they will be not kidnapped from these countries,” Burakova said.
Political asylum
The six soldiers granted visas intend to apply for political asylum in France. Their temporary visas were issued after lengthy discussions with human rights groups to ensure that they did not pose a security risk and were genuinely opposed to the war in Ukraine.
The Ark uses open-source software to carry out such background checks.
“We can identify that the people didn’t take part in war crimes, or sometimes that they were just stationed in military points in Russia, not in occupied territories of Ukraine,” Burakova said.
After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU tightened its guidelines on granting visas to Russian nationals. Many countries suspended visas for Russians altogether.
At the same time, The Ark was receiving a lot of messages from soldiers. “But it’s been really difficult to tell soldiers who don’t want to take part in this bloody war what they can do next,” Burakova said.
She hopes the French decision to grant visas to deserters will bring hope to other Russian soldiers. Both The Ark and Go By The Forest communicate to the public via their Telegraph channels, which are still not blocked in Russia.
Ultimately, she hopes their efforts can have an even larger impact.
“Showing that there is a way out from the army is one of the tools to end this war more quickly,” she said.
© France Médias Monde graphic studio
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Publish date : 2024-10-17 17:14:00
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The post In EU first, France grants visas to six Russian soldiers who deserted Ukraine war first appeared on Love Europe.
Author : love-europe
Publish date : 2024-10-17 19:15:16
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