World
US removals of Russians rose from 222 to over 1,200
BBC News··1d ago
Removals of Russian nationals from the United States rose from 222 in 2023 to more than 1,200 in 2025, the BBC reported. Activists say deportees included dissidents and army deserters, some later imprisoned or sent to war. Katya, a deportee given a changed name, said FSB officers in Moscow issued military papers to male returnees. Leonid Melekhin was sentenced to.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Asylum refusal in the US or EU can end in escorted return to Russia via third countries.
- Germany's positive decision rate for Russian asylum seekers fell from 29 percent in 2023 to 6.8 percent in early 2025.
- Exiled groups now advise seeking refuge outside the EU after protection rates fell across the bloc.
What's Happening
- Katya said US authorities rejected her asylum claim despite protest and opposition-movement evidence she cited.
- FSB officers interrogated her for several hours after the Moscow landing and later police visits continued.
- Andrei Pivovarov of the Anti-War Committee said some returnees received eight-year prison terms at the border.
How Western Asylum Rates Hardened
- More than 21,000 Russians sought asylum in Germany between 2022 and 2025.
- EU-wide protection for Russian applicants fell from 23 percent in 2024 to around 17 percent in the first nine months of 2025.
- Berlin suspended its humanitarian visa programme for Russians last year.
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