'Impossible to Refuse to Fight': Russian Deserters Tell DW about Their Escape I DW News

Oct 2, 2023 | In 2022 Vladimir Putin amended Russia’s Criminal Code, making it nearly impossible to leave the army. Deserters face 15 years behind bars. But according to human right activists, at least 500 men have deserted from the Russian army since then. DW reporter Natalia Smolentceva met one former soldier who has been granted residency in Germany.

Russian Deserters in Georgia | DW Documentary

Nov 28, 2022 | In September 2022, Russian President Putin ordered a partial mobilization to deploy more soldiers to Ukraine. But many Russians defied that order and fled the country – as many as half a million to date.

Some 100,000 Russian deserters have fled to Georgia so far. The nation maintains very close, but also rather strained relations with its neighbor - after all the most recent war with Russia wasn’t that long ago. Just how welcome are the deserting Russians? How are they faring in a foreign country after an often-risky journey out of Russia? How are they getting along with the Ukrainian refugees also accepted in large numbers by Georgia? DW reporter Oxana Evdokimova reports from the Georgian capital Tbilisi.