A Russian soldier who mysteriously disappeared two years ago reportedly escaped across the border to Norway, leaving President Vladimir Putin red-faced. The soldier is believed to have fought in the war against Ukraine for more than a year before defecting and had been on the run ever since.
Journey from Siberia to Norway
The Russian citizen spent the past couple of years hiding in forests in Siberia, according to reports. Earlier this summer, he allegedly began heading north towards the Norwegian border. He is said to have travelled on foot across the Kola Peninsula before crossing into Norway during the night of August 13.
Upon arriving in Norway, he reportedly called a contact in Europe. The man is believed to have applied for asylum in Norway. Military border guards detained him at around 1am between Grense Jakobselv and Korpfjell.
Police confirm illegal crossing
Police confirmed to the Barents Observer that a person is suspected of illegally crossing the border. Originally from Novosibirsk Oblast, the man was sent to the front line in Ukraine in late 2022.
Norwegian border officials have informed Russian FSB border guards about the suspected crossing. Chief of Staff Tarjei Sirma-Tellefsen of the Finnmark police said it is unknown if there are more Russian soldiers in the terrain.
Increased border presence
Both the Ranger Battalion GSV and the police stepped up their presence in the area that night, deploying dog patrols, drones and additional border patrols.
Only three illegal border crossings have been recorded in the Grense Jakobselv area over the past decade. The most recent took place last year, when a Russian defector from the war against Ukraine crossed a shallow stream into Norway. He had spent two weeks walking towards the border before finding a small opening in the Russian barbed-wire fence.
A few years earlier, another Russian man arrived in the area by sea after his small boat drifted across from Russian coastal waters, eventually coming ashore where the stream meets the sea.
