Russian Official Seeks U.S. Asylum to Escape Military Draft, Becomes Trucker

A former official in Russia's republic of Komi, Denis Sharonov, has sought asylum in the United States after fleeing the country to avoid being drafted into the war in Ukraine. Sharonov, who served as the republic's agriculture minister, left Russia when military enlistment officers delivered a draft summons to his address. He accused the Komi region Governor of attempting to involve him in corrupt schemes. Since the invasion of Ukraine, there has been a surge in asylum requests from Russian nationals in the U.S. Sharonov's first mention of being in the U.S. was on March 5, 2023.