Russian officer escapes to Lithuania and requests political asylum
One more Russian officer has sought refuge in Lithuania and requested political asylum (photo: Getty Images)
Russian Lieutenant Ivan Korolev has escaped to Lithuania, seeking political asylum in the country, according to BBC reports.
Illegally crossing the Lithuanian border, Korolev managed to make his way to Vilnius before being intercepted by Lithuanian border guards at the central bus station on August 10.
"In August, I took the decision to leave the Russian Federation as I did not wish to partake in the violent conflict initiated by my nation. At present, I find myself in the Republic of Lithuania, where I have formally sought political asylum," declared the Russian military officer.
The lieutenant served in the military unit 59313-39 of the United Strategic Command of the Eastern Military District. This unit is stationed in the town of Teysin in the Khabarovsk Krai.
Korolev asserts that he was not in Ukraine at the time of his involvement in the so-called "SMO" - special military operation.
"I took part in the 'SMO,' but I was on the territory of the Russian Federation the entire time. I was not in Ukraine," the Russian soldier claims.
According to his statement, the division to which he belonged had the task of provisioning the Russian military with ammunition and subsequently allocating these resources to the brigades of occupying forces present on Ukrainian soil.
The official submission for political asylum, made by the artillery officer who served as the deputy chief of the inventory and operational division at a field artillery depot, on August 11, is now under examination. Korolev will stay at a migration center in Pabrati during the review of his application.
Desertion in the Russian military
Instances of desertion are on the rise within the Russian military. To illustrate, in the temporarily occupied Arapivka of the Luhansk region, an estimated 90 Russian servicemen have absconded, abandoning their combat posts without official consent. Meanwhile, in Svatove, 40 occupiers fled.
In Mariupol and Novoazovsk, both located in the Donetsk region, 25 Russian occupiers have chosen to desert due to the halt in leaves.
In the Zaporizhzhia region, approximately 50 occupiers refused to partake in combat and rendered their weaponry inoperative.
