- Sam Cabral
- BBC – Washington
US authorities have arrested two Russians after they arrived on a small boat on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska.
Two US senators, representing the state, said the two men reached a beach in the village of Gamble and sought asylum in the country.
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said that “the asylum application of the two men is currently under consideration.”
Thousands have fled Russia to avoid conscription in the war in Ukraine.
Gamble, which has about 500 permanent residents, is located at the northwest tip of Saint Lawrence Island. The island is 56 kilometers from Russia’s Chukchi Peninsula, which means it is closer to Russia than to mainland Alaska.
According to local media, residents of Gambel can see the territory of Russian Siberia across the sea.
A local official in the town told a news station of the federation of trade unions that the two men sailed there from the city of Igvikynot, in northeastern Russia, on a 480-km cruise, and were flown from the island.
The Department of Homeland Security said the two men came ashore “on a small boat on Tuesday” and were flown to Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, for “screening and verification.”
picture released, Getty Images
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said during a news conference on Wednesday that their arrival “was a surprise to us.”
He added, “We do not expect a continuous influx of individuals or groups of individuals, we have no indication that this will happen, so the incident may be transient.”
Senator Dan Sullivan, the state senator from Alaska, said Gamble’s community leaders contacted him about the two men’s arrival on Tuesday.
Sullivan said he is urging federal authorities to “have a plan in place… in case more Russians flee to the Bering Strait towns in Alaska.”
“The incident highlights two things: First, the Russian people do not want Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Second, given Alaska’s proximity to Russia, our land plays a vital role in securing America’s national security,” he said in a statement Thursday.
His fellow state senator, Senator Lisa Murkowski, said the incident “underscores the need for a stronger security posture in the American Arctic.”
Both stressed the need to expand the country’s strategic defense capabilities and infrastructure to combat the threats posed by Russia in the region.
A report published by Forbes Russia, citing a source in the Kremlin, this week indicated that as many as 700,000 men may have left the country since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of forces on September 21.
The exodus comes at a time when Russian forces have suffered heavy losses and crushing defeats on the battlefield.
Although most of the men fled overland to neighboring Kazakhstan, Georgia and Finland, as well as other European countries, the case of two men seeking refuge in Alaska is the first.