According to the Barents Observer online newspaper, the man is probably on the run from Russia’s campaign and has no desire to go to war in Ukraine.
The Norwegian authorities have arrested a man who entered the country illegally, apparently from Russia, in northern Norway near the Russian border. The Norwegian police announced the matter on Friday afternoon.
The man had crossed the border illegally on the night between Thursday and Friday around two o’clock.
The Norwegian police are currently interrogating the man and establishing his identity.
– The man has applied for asylum in Norway, says the personnel manager of the Finnmark police area Tarjei Sirma-Tellefsen in the police bulletin.
The man had traveled on foot in the snowy terrain in the area of the Pasvik river. On the Norwegian side, he had knocked on the door of a private person’s house and asked for help in Skrøytnes, just over the border, a few kilometers from the town of Nikel. Nikel is located on the Russian side near the border.
Thousands have gone from Russia to Norway
Norway has a land border with Russia of almost 200 kilometers.
– We received a report from the Russian border authorities about traces that could indicate that someone has crossed the border illegally. After this, the (Norwegian) border guard and the police immediately started a search, says Sirma-Tellefsen.
The Russian man may have fled Russia from the Murmansk region because of the Russian campaign, and possibly did not want to go to war in Ukraine. This is what a Norwegian online magazine that publishes news in English says Barents Observer (you switch to another service). The matter was also reported by other Norwegian media such as NRK (you switch to another service) and Netavisen. (you switch to another service)
Thousands of Russians have gone from Russia to Norway after Russia announced the move, and many of them have applied for asylum in Norway, reports the Norwegian media Netavisen.