U.S. immigration authorities have deported dozens of Russian asylum seekers to Moscow in recent weeks, including a former serviceman wanted for desertion who was immediately detained upon arrival, The Guardian reported.
At least two ICE-operated flights departed from Alexandria, Louisiana, in June and August, carrying around 80 Russian nationals. The flights landed in Cairo, where passengers were transferred onto planes bound for Moscow with cooperation from Egyptian and Russian officials. Deportees described being shackled and handcuffed during transfers, with documents confiscated.
Among those deported on August 27 was Andrei Vovchenko, 25, who deserted the Russian army in 2022. Witnesses said he pleaded not to be sent back but was restrained by Egyptian police. He now faces up to 10 years in prison for desertion. Other deportees reported interrogations by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) before some were released.
Russian dissident Vladimir Osechkin, founder of Gulagu.net, condemned the deportations:
“People fleeing Putin’s war and repression are ending up shackled in U.S. prisons and then handed to the FSB. This is cruel and shameful,” he said, urging Washington to halt the removals.
Opposition figures Yulia Navalnaya, Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Ilya Yashin also appealed to Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney to grant asylum to Russians facing deportation, warning that a return to Russia almost always means arrest or persecution.
Over 195,000 people have been deported by ICE under Donald Trump’s administration, with Russian asylum seekers increasingly affected. Since 2023, many applicants have been placed in long-term detention rather than granted parole. Reports from detention centers cite overcrowding, poor sanitation, and inhumane treatment.
More than 8,300 Russians applied for asylum in the U.S. since the Ukraine invasion, with 85% of cases approved in 2024. Under the new enforcement approach, however, deportations have accelerated.
Looking Ahead
With Trump pledging further mass deportations, uncertainty looms for thousands of Russians still awaiting asylum decisions. Human rights campaigners warn that deporting dissidents and draft evaders back to Russia effectively places them at the mercy of Putin’s security apparatus.
