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Removals of Russian nationals from the United States rose from 222 in 2023 to more than 1,200 in 2025 amid a broader increase in deportations during President Donald Trump’s second term according to BBC News. Activists told the BBC that those returned included anti-war demonstrators and military deserters some of whom were imprisoned or sent back to fight in Ukraine after arrival in Moscow. Russian security services met one flight carrying deportees in December and one returnee identified only as Katya described the experience to the BBC saying “It was unbelievably frightening. My knees were shaking with fear.” Katya provided documents and photographs that the BBC said matched other accounts from deportees.
Deportations have also risen across Europe where Germany sent back seven Russian nationals in 2023 but more than 110 in 2025 German government figures show. More than 21,000 Russians applied for asylum in Germany between 2022 and 2025 yet the rate of positive decisions dropped from 29 percent in 2023 to 6.8 percent in the first 11 months of 2025 a German migration and asylum agency assessment found. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees told the BBC that protection is only granted if there is an actual well-founded fear of persecution. A similar decline occurred across the European Union where the proportion of Russian applicants granted some form of asylum protection fell from 23 percent in 2024 to around 17 percent in the first nine months of 2025 according to EU data.
Human rights groups have raised concerns over individual cases including that of Georgy Avaliani a 47-year-old father of three who was mobilized into the Russian army in 2022 fled the front line suffered torture in a basement facility and later reached Germany only to have his asylum claim rejected a Meduza report from February 2026 stated. Avaliani told interviewers he would fear for his life if returned and planned to appeal the decision. Farewell to Arms which assists Russian deserters estimates around 100 such individuals are currently in Germany while human rights lawyer Artem Klyga told outlets that approximately 1,000 Russian citizens have sought asylum there citing the 2022 mobilization according to the same Meduza investigation.
Eurostat figures place the number of asylum decisions for Russians at 12,090 between the third quarter of 2025 and second quarter of 2026 with only 2,745 approvals and more than 8,400 orders to leave the bloc. In Finland authorities nearly deported Nikita Belov and his mother Olga last month before a court ordered their case reconsidered a Moscow Times report from September 2026 noted. A couple in Finland told the BBC “We fear for our lives. We came to Finland for help and they’re refusing us. My wife cries constantly.” Amnesty International which is supporting the pair said they could face a real risk of detention prosecution imprisonment and torture if returned.
The Nobel Prize-winning Russian human rights group Memorial reported that repression inside Russia reached an unprecedented level in 2025 with its list of political prisoners growing from 803 to 1,265 during the year. Human Rights Watch has documented how new war censorship laws criminalize criticism of the conflict in Ukraine or the government since the 2022 invasion. A Politico report from February 2026 highlighted that approval rates for Russian men of military age in Germany fell to about 5 percent overall with only 416 out of 8,201 applicants since 2022 receiving protection according to government responses to parliamentary questions.
In the United States some deportations involved flights to Cairo followed by transfers to Moscow with passengers shackled and describing the process as handing people to Russian security services a Guardian investigation from September 2025 found. Similar returns have occurred from countries including Lithuania where one deserter was sent to Kaliningrad according to the Moscow Times. Organizations assisting those fleeing have altered their guidance warning that the European Union is no longer a safe destination for Russian dissidents and deserters and recommending they seek refuge elsewhere a BBC report on October 16 2026 stated.
