Russian Border Guard cadet asks for refugee status in Ukraine
A cadet from the Russian Border Guard Institute asked Ukraine to grant him political asylum, as reported on Facebook by the assistant head of the State Border Service, Press Secretary Oleh Slobodyan.
According to Slobodyan, several days ago, a citizen of the Russian Federation, born in 1997, arrived at the Hoprivka border crossing to enter Ukraine. He said that he was a serviceman of the FSB of the Russian Federation and asked to be recognized as a political refugee.
"During the initial interview and examination of the documents it was established that he really is a third-year cadet of the Golitsyn Border Guard Institute of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. After further communication, it turned out that the citizen of the Russian Federation, Udovichenko Sergei is an ethnic Ukrainian. He knows the Ukrainian language and, in accordance with his political views, condemns the current authorities in Russia. He said that he repeatedly participated in opposition rallies, and after the presidential elections he finally decided to leave for Ukraine," Slobodyan said.
Ukrainian authorities are still deliberating on the cadet’s request to be granted refugee status.
In early December last year, three Russians asked for political asylum in Ukraine within the same week because of the persecution by the law enforcement. In January, a Russian with frostbitten hands and feet illegally crossed the border with Ukraine in the Kharkiv region and asked for political asylum.