For the first time, the European Union agreed to meet Russian defectors halfway to help them avoid mobilization. They have already requested asylum in France.
This was reported by the BBC Russian service.
As it became known, among this group of deserters there is only one who participated in the conflict against Ukraine. The group also includes three career officers and two mobilized officers who managed to avoid being sent to the front in Ukraine. Human rights activists emphasize that for European authorities not only the practice of desertion itself was important, but also the clearly expressed anti-war position of these people.
In early October, the six defectors arrived in France and began the process of obtaining refugee status. In July 2023, France’s National Court of Asylum Rights confirmed the possibility of these Russian defectors and their supporters applying for protection. In June 2024, 102 Russian citizens who had evaded mobilization had already received asylum, but there were no deserters among them.
Recall that “Cursor” wrote that since the start of the conflict in February 2022, Russia has suffered more than 665 thousand losses. And mobilization remains a sensitive issue, especially after many military-age men left the country to avoid military service. Every day, Russian troops lose more than a thousand dead or wounded. Although exact casualty figures are difficult to verify, British sources claim that Russian casualties are close to 648,000. As expert William Freer points out, both sides are experiencing a shortage of human resources which, together with a lack of ammunition, becomes critical in a protracted war.
