A Russian national called up for military service in Ukraine has been granted asylum by the Canadian government after a lawyer argued the 19-year-old had a real fear of persecution.
Russian national Trofim Modlyi was in Canada visiting his sister, a Canadian citizen, in Alberta last year when Russia invaded Ukraine in February and has remained in Canada since the outbreak of the war. When his parents in Russia received a notice of military service for the teen he decided to apply for asylum.
“There is no possibility for me to [go] home because I would be drafted [into] the war, and I don’t want to take part in it. I don’t want to kill innocent people in Ukraine,” Modlyi told broadcaster CBC.
Immigration and refugee lawyer Simon Yu stated that Modlyi, who he helped with the refugee claim, could not return to Russia because there was a fear of persecution upon his return.
“He and his sister and his parents back home strongly believed that if he goes back there, there would be a strong opportunity that he will be sent to the conflict area — he would be fighting in Ukraine,” he said.
Modlyi is only one of just over a hundred Russian nationals who have applied for refugee status in Canada since the start of the war until November 30th of last year.
Earlier this week, another Russian national, a member of the notorious mercenary group PMC Wagner, also sought refugee status in Norway, claiming to be a commander in the paramilitary group and has claimed he wants to speak out on the group’s alleged war crimes.
Emilie Enger Mehl, Norway’s Justice Minister, commented on the man, stating that the security services were investigating his background and any possible safety concerns.
Oscar Jonsson, Doctor of Russian Warfare at the Swedish Defence University, stated that defection is the first of its kind saying, “This is the first person from the Wagner group to defect to the West. He says he has, among other things, videos of war crimes that, if true, could have an effect on international law investigations.”
PMC Wagner, a private military contractor, has been very active in recent battles around the city of Bakhmut and was seen as key in the Russian advance on the town of Soledar, which was captured over the last week.
Estimates vary regarding how many Russians have fled the country since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization last September, with the Kremlin denying the number was as high as 700,000.
However, countries have reported Russians attempting to stay illegally in order to avoid military service, such as Finland, where authorities claimed Russians were using forged passport stamps to remain in the country.
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