13th February 2026
A Russian citizen, R. (name withheld), has been granted international protection in Finland following more than three years of examination of his case — from September 2022 until November 2025.
This decision is particularly significant because, currently, it is very difficult for Russian citizens who left their country after the 2022 mobilisation announcement and refuse to participate in a war which also constitutes a violation of international law, to obtain protection in Finland. Fear of conscription alone, although the illegal practices reported also by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian federation, is often considered insufficient without additional individual risk factors.
