Ukrainian ambassador opposes German government helping Russian deserters

Oleksii Makieiev, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, criticised German politicians who have proposed an initiative to give refuge to Russians citizens who fled from their country due to the mobilisation announced by Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia.

Source: European Pravda referring to DW

Makieiev believes that "young men who regret nothing but still want to avoid draft are fleeing from Russia and then driving around German cities in motorcades, waving Russian flags."

Among other things, such people may pose a "safety risk" not only for Germany but also "for all young Ukrainian women with children who will be forced to live together with these men in refugee dormitories", the ambassador stated.

Meanwhile, despite the German politicians’ claims about the support for Russian deserters, as of the beginning of November there is no official confirmation that Germany has started to systematically provide them with refuge, and human rights activists emphasised that there are challenges in the organisation of this process.

The German authorities justified the absence of changes in the procedure of issuing visas to Russians with the fear that Russia may use this situation to organise diversions at the critical infrastructure facilities in the EU.

Background: After the alleged arson of the hotel in Germany which housed Ukrainian refugees, Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada ombudsman for human rights, expressed his concern about the future security situation in the countries where Ukrainian refugees currently reside.  

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