Russians who fled the country to avoid fighting in Ukraine are rescued in Alaska

Despite the unusual news, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said that “there is no indication” that there will be a large influx of Russians into the US state| Photo: Paxson Woelber/The Alaska Landmine/Wikimedia Commons

Two Russian citizens were rescued last Tuesday (4) by the US Coast Guard. United States on the remote island of St. Lawrence, Alaska, where they arrived on a boat after fleeing their country to avoid being recruited by the Russian army to fight in Ukraine.

Republican senators from Alaska, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, confirmed this Thursday (6) that citizens have applied for asylum in the country.

The Russians arrived last Monday night at a beach on the island located in the municipality of Gambell and were assisted by local residents, until the arrival of the Coast Guard the next day with officials from the Customs and Border Protection.

“This incident makes two things clear: First, the Russian people do not want to fight Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Second, given Alaska’s proximity to Russia, our state has a vital role to play in ensuring the national security of the United States,” they noted.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy himself confirmed the news and said that this is a case “single”. “We do not anticipate an influx of people, there is no indication that this will happen”, he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in

of September the mobilization of more troops, which provoked an exodus of hundreds of thousands of men from the country.

Saint Lawrence is an island in the Bering Sea, located west of the Alaska Peninsula, south of the Bering Strait. It is part of the state of Alaska, but is closer to the Russian coast than to the mainland.