More than 1,100 draft-age Russians who have tried to avoid military conscription have fled to Finland and are seeking asylum, and some thousands are waiting for their fate to be decided in several European countries.
The Finnish Immigration Service said it is awaiting the European Union’s position on asylum applications, according to the Finnish News Agency STT reports.
“We have not been able to issue decisions on asylum,” said Sanaa Soter, director of immigration at the Ministry of Interior. He said other Nordic countries had also decided to wait for EU directives, but the EU had not provided a timeline on the issue.
Thousands of Russians have fled since President Vladimir Putin announced the “partial mobilization” of 300,000 people last September. But one soldier, who made global headlines when he fled the war and sought asylum in Norway, says he wants to return to Russia.
Andrei Medvedev, 26, had fought with Russian Wagner mercenaries before slipping into Norway in January. A few weeks later, he was arrested on charges related to barbaring several bars and last month he was sentenced to 14 days in a Norwegian prison.
“I was hoping to find peace and quiet here and leave all politics, war and the army behind, but somehow I couldn’t control,” Medvedev said in Russian in a video translated by Reuters. “We’ll see what happens in Russia. If they kill me, fine. If they don’t, thanks a lot.”
developing:
Moldovan Prime Minister Doren Resin said that Moldova had cut its dependence on Russian gas. Moldova is a former Soviet republic with a population of about 2.6 million that borders Ukraine.
∙ Ukraine’s military announced that it shot down 29 out of 30 Russian missiles, most of them fired towards Kiev, early Thursday.
Ukrainian NATO representative tempers counterattack expectations
Ukraine’s long-awaited spring counteroffensive “cannot determine the course of the entire war,” Natalya Haliparenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to NATO, said Thursday, and the West should have reasonable expectations. I told Lithuanian media outlet LRT It will probably take several attacks to drive the Russian forces out of their country. Military support from the West is growing, and she has acknowledged that her country’s success depends heavily on international help.
“I understand that some fatigue feels over time, that’s normal human nature,” she said. “There can’t be a state of constant pressure. We say to Western societies that you help us with money, things and other support, but Ukrainians pay for freedom with their lives, and this must be borne in mind and not be taken lightly.”
The Russians reject the claims of their country’s gains
Leader of Russian and popular mercenary forces Pro-Kremlin blogger Both rejected claims by the Russian Defense Ministry of gains in the decisive battle for the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, as the war slogans advance about 15 months, with little sign of a conclusion approaching.
The Ukrainian military announced modest gains in the besieged North and South, a nearly deserted city that was once home to more than 70,000 people. Russian claims of marginal progress were quickly dismissed by Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin, and criticized his Defense Ministry. on Telegram To spin what was in fact a decline.
Russian blogger Ribar agreedposting on Telegram that Ukraine’s “undeclared counterattack” is underway with fierce battles that allow Ukraine to achieve an important goal against the forces of the Russian Federation.
Ribar said: “They are forcing the Russian armed forces to expand their forces and remove the most combat-ready units from other sensitive areas, forcing them to transfer them to the threatened sectors of the front.” “Now, unfortunately, we are in a situation to play with and follow the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, dragging the most experienced units of the RF Armed Forces into the meat grinder of Bakhmut. … What this threatens him in the short term, even a fool will guess.
The Kremlin accuses 3 hypersonic missile scientists of treason
Staff of the Russian Institute for Theoretical and Applied Mathematics in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk have published an open letter in defense of three hypersonic missile scientists — Anatoly Maslov, Alexander Shiplyuk and Valery Zvyagintsev — who were reportedly arrested by Russian authorities on suspicion of “high treason,” the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War says, scientists say. The arrests discourage the younger generation from pursuing careers in science, which contributes to the low quality of scientific research.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin was aware of the letter and that Russian security services were involved in the case.
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