Putin’s war is illegal – and Russians fleeing the draft may have the right to asylum | Nicole Stybnarova

The 1951 refugee convention should be upheld by Russia's neighbours as people refusing to fight in Ukraine seek safety

Russian software architect AA" was one of 17,000 people who fled Russia for Finland last weekend. This was before Finland closed its border with Russia, which was the last direct route from Russia to the European Union. AA told Finnish journalists that Russia was establishing call-up centres or contact points" on the other side of the border, preventing people from leaving and funnelling them into the armed forces. Apparently, no authority on either side of the borders between Russia and the EU is now interested in the fate of ordinary Russians who refuse to fight in the criminal invasion of Ukraine.

Other EU countries bordering Russia have also recently closed their eastern borders and suspended Russian tourist visas. Certain countries have explicitly said that they will not recognise Russians fleeing conscription as refugees, with Estonian foreign minister Urmas Reinsalu telling Reuters in September: A refusal to fulfil one's civic duty in Russia or a desire to do so does not constitute sufficient grounds for being granted asylum in another country".

Nicole Stybnarova is a lecturer in public international law and refugee law at the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford

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