Russian army deserters in Germany: 'No choice but to run'
Almost all asylum applications by Russian deserters are being denied by German authorities. DW and Russian-language media outlet Astra spoke to one of the young
Almost all asylum applications by Russian deserters are being denied by German authorities. DW and Russian-language media outlet Astra spoke to one of the young men who fears he'll be sent back to die on the front lines. Nikita Zvezdov was just 15 years old when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He was drafted into the Russian military straight after his 18th birthday in April 2024. Shortly before that, he had been failed at a vocational school he was attending in Krasnoyarsk and he believes that his expulsion was deliberate. Over the past few years there have been reports that Russian students were not only drafted into the army but also prevented from passing their exams or deliberately flunked, so their conscription could not be hindered. This information has not been verified. In May 2024, after receiving his conscription notice, Zvezdov was assigned to military unit 25573 near Ussuriysk. Soldiers are frequently killed serving this unit and there have also been reports of harassment, extortion and beatings. On various internet forums, the unit is well known for its criminality. Zvezdov said officers in the unit pressured him and other conscripts to commit to a longer period of service in the army. "I promised myself and my relatives that I would not sign a contract for the [conflict]," Zvezdov said, adding that he had never wanted to fight against Ukraine in the first place. Nikita Zvezdov was drafted into the Russian military straight after his 18th birthday in April 2024 Image: privat "They sent me to a training ground where they also did whatever they wanted — officers shot many conscripts in their legs, beat them up and punished them for everything they could and could not do," Zvezdov continued. "Do 200 pushups in a gas mask and run 50 laps in a bulletproof vest with 25 to 30 kilos on top." Zvezdov said he started having suicidal thoughts and even tried to jump off a cliff, but was prevented from doing so by officers. After that, another officer forced him to sign a service contract. The young man is not alone in this experience.
The Russian military is experiencing personnel shortages and conscripts are regularly pressured to join for longer. The mothers of a number of Russian soldiers told the Russian media outlet Astra, which operates mostly via its Telegram channel and which has been designated a "foreign agent "by the Russian government, that their sons were deceived or harassed until they signed contracts. 'No choice but to run' A month after signing his contract, Zvezdov was told he was being sent to units operating in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, near Melitopol, which were well-known for a high rate of casualties. "I realized that in principle I definitely have no choice but to run. You won't be able to wait it out either," he explained. After Zvezdov got his first pay as a soldier — 40,000 Russian rubles (€450/$510) — the young man applied for leave, ostensibly in order to stock up on provisions before he left for the front. A former convict, who'd also been conscripted, was assigned to monitor him. Zvezdov was supposed to check in with him via WhatsApp every few hours. But he was lucky — his minder didn't pay all that much attention to the job. Zvezdov threw away his uniform and fled to Armenia. He wasn't actually classified as a deserter for another six months. By then Zvezdov had traveled further, first to Bosnia and Herzegovina, then onto Croatia, where he applied for political asylum. But without waiting for a decision on his asylum application, the young Russian then moved on again, arriving in Germany in December 2025, where his grandfather lives. In Germany, he applied for asylum once again. The German authorities rejected his application, citing the European Union's so-called Dublin rule, which means that the country where an asylum-seeker enters is the state responsible for their application. In Zvezdov's case, this is Croatia. Members of Nikita Zvezdov's unit were deployed on occupied Ukrainian territory Image: privat Germany was supposed to send Zvezdov back to Croatia within six months; the deadline for that would be at the end of July 2026. If he is not sent back, responsibility for his asylum application returns to Germany. However, according to human rights activists, Russian deserters have almost no chance of getting approved for asylum in Germany.
The BriefWire