Two Russians who fled military service sail to Alaska seeking asylum

Two Russians have been detained by US border officials after arriving in a small boat in Alaska.

The men landed at a beach in the village of Gambell on St Lawrence Island after crossing the Bering Sea and requested asylum.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesman said the pair’s claim was currently being processed.

Thousands have fled Russia to avoid being conscripted in President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine.

Gambell - home to less than 500 residents - sits on the north western cape of St Lawrence Island and is 36 miles from Russia’s Chukchi Peninsula.

It is closer to Russia than it is to the Alaskan mainland.

According to local media, Gambell residents can see the Russian territory of Siberia across the sea.

A local town clerk told the KTUU news station that the men had sailed there from the city of Egvekinot in north-eastern Russia, a journey of about 300 miles by sea, and have since been flown off the island.

The DHS said the men came ashore in a small boat on Tuesday and had been flown to Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, for vetting and screening.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said their arrival was a surprise.

He added: “We don’t anticipate a continual stream of individuals or a flotilla of individuals.

“We have no indication that’s going to happen, so this may be a one-off.”

Senator Dan Sullivan said community leaders in Gambell had contacted him about the men’s arrival.

Sullivan said he was urging federal authorities to have a plan ready in the event more Russians flee to Bering Strait communities in Alaska.

He wrote in a statement on Thursday: “This incident makes two things clear: First, the Russian people don’t want to fight Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

“Second, given Alaska’s proximity to Russia, our state has a vital role to play in securing America’s national security.”

His colleague Senator Lisa Murkowski, said the incident underscores the need for a stronger security posture in America’s Arctic.

Both have pushed for expanding strategic defence capabilities and infrastructure in the state to combat threats Russia poses in the region.

Citing a Kremlin source, a Forbes Russia report this week claimed as many as 700,000 men may have left the country since Putin announced a partial troop mobilisation on September 21.

The mass exodus comes as Russian troops have faced heavy losses and morale-crushing defeats on the battlefield.

But while most men have fled over land to neighbouring Kazakhstan, Georgia and Finland, as well as other European countries, the arrivals in Alaska are a first.

In August, US authorities stopped Russians without legal status who tried to enter from Canada 42 times. That was up from 15 in July and nine times in August 2021.

Russians more commonly try to enter America through Mexico, which does not require visas.