Anti-war Russians deported from US and EU face arrest and army call-up at home

Russian security services were waiting when a flight from the United States landed in Moscow in December, carrying Russians who had been deported after being denied political asylum. One of the passengers, an activist identified only as Katya, told the BBC that FSB officers interrogated her for several hours and found what they described as incriminating material on her phone. The BBC changed her name because she remains in Russia.

Katya said male deportees were handed military papers requiring them to register with their local enlistment office, from where men are often sent to fight in Ukraine. Another passenger and an activist confirmed her account. She was released and allowed to stay with relatives, but says police continue to call her and visit her home.

Deportations rising

US removals of Russians rose from 222 in 2023 to more than 1,200 in 2025, amid a wider increase in deportations under President Donald Trump's second term. Activists say those returned have included dissidents and Russian army deserters, some of whom were imprisoned or sent to war. Anti-war activist Leonid Melekhin, who posted images of Vladimir Putin captioned "Putin: murderer, fascist, usurper", was charged with "justifying terrorism" and sentenced to six years in prison after being deported last year.

Europe is also returning more Russians. Germany deported seven Russian nationals in 2023 and more than 110 in 2025, according to German government figures. Of the more than 21,000 Russians who sought asylum there between 2022 and 2025, the share of positive decisions fell from 29% in 2023 to 6.8% in the first eleven months of 2025. Across the EU, the proportion of Russian applicants granted some form of protection fell from 23% in 2024 to around 17% in the first nine months of 2025.

Officials 'didn't believe' activists

Lawyer Anastasia Burakova, founder of the rights group Kovcheg, which helps anti-war Russians leave, said Western governments are focused on limiting humanitarian programmes and asylum in response to public concerns and rising support for right-wing populist parties. Activists told the BBC that immigration officials sometimes said they faced "no danger" in Russia.

Artyom, a former soldier who deserted in 2022 after officers threatened to send him to Ukraine, said he gave US authorities proof of a criminal investigation opened against him in Russia, but was still deported via Egypt. He was held in a military detention facility in Moscow before escaping, and is now in hiding abroad.

The US Department of Homeland Security told the BBC that all illegal aliens receive due process, and that those a judge finds have no right to be in the country are removed.

Couple await removal from Finland

In Finland, anti-war activist Mikhail and his wife Dasha are awaiting deportation "any day". The Finnish Immigration Service has rejected their asylum request five times, deciding there is "no reasonable basis to believe" they would face serious rights violations if returned. Amnesty International, which supports the couple, says they could face a "real risk" of detention, prosecution, imprisonment and torture.

Memorial, the Nobel Prize-winning Russian human rights group, says repression inside Russia has reached an unprecedented level, with its list of political prisoners growing from 803 to 1,265 during 2025.

Source: BBC World.