Ukraine war: Russian paratrooper flees to France denouncing army ‘chaos’
- Paratrooper Pavel Filatiev left Russia after fighting in Ukraine for almost two months
- He railed at the state of Russia’s military and Ukraine war in a lengthy account online
Suddenly notorious for a scathing first-person account of the war in Ukraine published online, Russian paratrooper Pavel Filatiev arrived in France seeking political asylum Sunday after quitting his country for fear of reprisals.
“When I heard the higher-ups were calling for me to be sentenced to 15 years in prison for fake news, I realised that I wouldn’t get anywhere here and my lawyers couldn’t do anything for me in Russia,” Filatiev told Agence France-Presse in the asylum seekers’ waiting area at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
Tuesday afternoon came the news that “Pavel Filatiev was freed late afternoon” after receiving official authorisation to enter France, where he will have eight days to make an asylum claim, his lawyer Kamalia Mehtiyeva said.
“We are delighted at this decision and are going to file the political asylum request in the days ahead,” Mehtiyeva added.
After a time out from the army, the 34-year-old last year rejoined Russia’s 56th airborne regiment – his father’s old unit – based in Crimea.
The paratroopers were sent into southern Ukraine when President Vladimir Putin began his “special military operation” against Kyiv on February 24.