The opponents of Putin deported by the West to whom Russia now sends to war

The opponents of Putin deported by the West to whom Russia now sends to the war - Author, Will Vernon - Author's title, BBC News - Publication date - Reading time: 8 min Security services were waiting when the flight landed in Moscow in December. On board were Russians who had been deported by the United States, including activists who had been denied political asylum. "It was incredibly terrifying. My knees trembled with fear," says Katya, one of those deported. We have changed her name to protect her identity, as she remains in Russia. Katya had left the country and applied for asylum in the U.S. two years earlier. When Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many countries publicly welcomed the Russians fleeing. But more than four years later, the measures regarding these refugees have become stricter. The number of pacifist Russians being forcibly returned from Western countries is increasing, and Katya's experience highlights the potential risks they face. The U.S. authorities rejected her asylum application after she claimed to have provided evidence that she had participated in protests and was a member of an opposition movement. In Moscow, Katya claims that agents of the Russian Federal Security Service handed military documents to all the deported men, forcing them to register at the local recruitment office, from where people are often ordered to be sent to the front lines. Another passenger on the flight and an activist confirmed her version. The agents interrogated her, and many others, for several hours. "At one point, they found incriminating information on my phone," says Katya. "Their faces changed in a second. I was very afraid they would simply take me somewhere." Finally, Katya was released and allowed to stay with her family. However, she claims that the police continue to call and visit her at home. "I feel like in a cage, like in a zoo," she says, "Every time I see a police car, I am terrified and start to think: 'What if they come for me?'" Katya showed the BBC documents and photographs that confirmed her story, which coincides with the accounts of other deportees. Expulsions are increasing Expulsions from the U.S. increased from 222 in 2023 to more than 1,200 in 2025, amidst a general increase in deportations during Donald Trump's second term. Activists assure that among the deported Russians were dissidents and army deserters, some of whom were imprisoned or sent to the front after returning to Russia. One of them is Leonid Melejin, a pacifist activist who applied for asylum in the U.S. after being detained for participating in protests in Russia. Melejin had published photographs of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, accompanied by the message: "Putin: murderer, fascist, usurper" on the internet. After being deported to Russia last year, he was accused of "justifying terrorism" and sentenced to six years in prison. "We have several examples of people who were sentenced to eight years in prison for crossing the border [Russian]," states Andrei Pivovarov, from the Anti-War Committee, the main opposition organization in exile in Russia. At the same time, deportations are taking place from Europe. That is why their organization tells dissidents fleeing Russia that the European Union is no longer safe and that it is better to seek refuge elsewhere. Germany has drastically increased the number of Russian citizens deported. Seven were returned in 2023, a figure that rose to more than 110 in 2025, according to government data. More than 21,000 Russians applied for asylum in Germany between 2022 and 2025, but the proportion of favorable decisions dropped from 29% in 2023 to only 6.8% in the first eleven months of 2025. "Protection is only granted if there is a real and well-founded fear of persecution," stated the German agency for migration and asylum, BAMF, to the BBC. Last year, Berlin suspended its humanitarian visa program for Russian citizens, and throughout the European Union, the proportion of Russian applicants for whom some type of asylum protection was granted fell from 23% in 2024 to around 17% in the first nine months of 2025, according to official data. Return to Russia by will or force Russian opposition activists fleeing repression have found themselves caught in a broader offensive against immigration, as the governments of Europe and the U.S. tighten rules amid political pressure over the high number of irregular immigrants and asylum applications, as well as security concerns. Western governments are "focused on limiting humanitarian programs and asylum seekers," says lawyer Anastasia Burakova, founder of the human rights organization Kovcheg (which means "ark"), which helps Russians who oppose the conflict leave the country. Repression is, according to her, in response to public concern and growing support for right-wing populist parties. After an unfavorable decision on their asylum application, Russian citizens are often given the opportunity to leave the country on their own, but a growing number are being forcibly returned to Russia, usually escorted through third countries. Several exiled activists told the BBC that immigration officials had assured them that they were not in "any danger" in Russia and that they often lacked adequate knowledge of the risks they faced upon return. "I tried to explain to them that if I were deported, they would put me in prison or send me to the war, where they would kill me," says former soldier Artyom, who deserted the Russian army in 2022 after some officers threatened to send him to Ukraine. "They simply didn't believe me," he noted. Artyom maintains that he provided the U.S. authorities with evidence that a criminal investigation had been opened against him in Russia for desertion. Nevertheless, he was sent back to Moscow on a deportation flight via Egypt. "They were preparing me for death," the former soldier recalls, "I thought: 'How can I die without it being painful?'". Back in Moscow, Artyom was held in a military detention center, but managed to escape. He is now hiding abroad. "Another country could have investigated me better and granted me asylum. Why didn't they give me that opportunity? Instead, they deported me directly to Russia," he points out. "That ruined my life." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security told the BBC that "all undocumented immigrants receive due process." "If a judge determines that an undocumented immigrant does not have the right to be in this country, we will deport them," they assured. Persecution for social media posts Repression regarding asylum is occurring at a time when repression within Russia has reached "an unprecedented level," according to the Memorial human rights organization, a Nobel laureate. Their list of political prisoners increased from 803 to 1,265 during 2025, a record increase. The Russian embassy in London did not respond to the request for comment. The activist Mijaíl claims that he and his wife Dasha are awaiting deportation from Finland "at any moment". Their names have been changed to protect their identity. Russian authorities blocked their social media accounts for posts against the war, and the police visited their mother and accused her of spreading "false information". Dasha is a Jehovah's Witness, an organization banned in Russia for being considered "extremist". The couple provided the Finnish authorities with evidence, which the BBC accessed, including a video in which the Russian police informs her mother that more than 300 posts had violated Russian law. A single post can lead to a long prison sentence. The Finnish Immigration Service has rejected their asylum application five times, considering that "there are no reasonable grounds to believe" that the couple would suffer serious violations of their rights if returned. "We are sitting here and someone could knock on our door at any time, take us to the Russian border and hand us over to the authorities," says Mijaíl. "We fear for our lives!" "We came to Finland seeking help, and they are denying it," he adds. "My wife cries constantly." Amnesty International, which supports the couple, states that they could face a "real risk" of arrest, trial, imprisonment, and torture if they return. The Finnish Immigration Service stated that all decisions on asylum are based on the norms of international refugee law and that the percentage of Russians who receive asylum is in line with the EU average. For Mijaíl and Dasha, the threat of deportation arises at a time when more and more Russians may be considering leaving the country. In Russia, many believe that Putin could announce a new mobilization to reinforce his army in Ukraine, something the Kremlin denies. The last similar action, which occurred in 2022, caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee, many of them to former Soviet states like Armenia and Georgia. The organization of Anastasia Burakova assures that requests for help from Russians wishing to emigrate have multiplied tenfold in August compared to May. For those now seeking to escape, the question is whether the West will offer them refuge or return them to their country of origin. This article was originally written in English and we used an artificial intelligence tool to translate it. BBC journalists reviewed the text before publication. More information on how we use AI. - Download the new BBC World Service app. Choose BBC News Mundo and receive news alerts, documentaries, and analysis, all in one place. Important: the new application is not available in the UK or the United States. - You can also follow us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, and our WhatsApp channel. - And don't forget to subscribe here to our newsletter to receive a special selection of our best content every Friday.