EU grants visas to Russian deserters, including a former participant in the war in Ukraine: BBC
The European Union has granted visas for the first time to a group of Russian defectors who have already applied for asylum in France. About this informs BBC.
According to the publication, one of the deserters participated in the war against Ukraine, the others are personnel officers and two are mobilized who avoided being sent to the front. For the European authorities, the decisive factor in issuing visas was a clear anti-war position, and not just the fact of desertion. All six defectors have already arrived in France and started the asylum process.
It is noted that last year the French National Court on the Right to Asylum confirmed the right of Russian deserters and evaders to receive asylum, creating a precedent for such cases.
It was previously reported that the desertion rate in the Russian army reached record levels since the beginning of the war. In March of this year, Russian courts indicted 684 servicemen for desertion, which was the highest figure for this period.
