This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Two Russian men who sought asylum in the United States after landing on a remote Alaskan island by boat earlier this month to avoid conscription to fight in Ukraine are indigenous Siberians, Alaska’s U.S. senator said.
“They feared for their lives because of Russia, who is targeting minority populations for conscription into service in Ukraine,” Lisa Murkowski said on October 22.
Murkowski said she met with the two Siberians recently but didn’t give further details about when or where the meeting took place or where their asylum process stood.
The pair landed at a beach near Gambell, a remote settlement of about 600 people on St. Lawrence Island, some 58 kilometers from Siberia’s Chukotka peninsula on October 4.
Two days later, Murkowski’s office announced their request for asylum, saying the men reportedly fled one of the coastal communities on Russia’s east coast.
The incident prompted lawmakers from the state to ask the federal government for extra support in case more Russians flee to Alaska amid President Vladimir Putin’s military call-up.
Thousands of Russian men fled the country after Putin announced a mobilization in September to call up about 300,000 men to bolster Russia’s depleting forces in Ukraine.
