“Better to leave than to end up buried in Ukraine”, testifies a Russian who arrived in Paris

A brown streak sweeps across her tired eyes. With the face of a teenager, but the gravity of an adult, Roman hit the road a week ago, from Moscow, in the direction of Norway. He testifies anonymously, his name has been changed because part of his family still lives in Russia. “There was a six hour wait to cross the border. At the time of the checks, I was very anxious at the idea of ​​being arrested“, says Roman. As more and more young Russians of fighting age since Vladimir Putin ordered a “partial mobilization” , he preferred to leave his own country to avoid ending up at the front, and risking his life in Ukraine. Because this mobilization which would only be “partial“, Roman does not believe it. He thus joined France via Norway.

To fool the customs officers, he said he was going sightseeing, with a return ticket in support: “I explained to the border guards that I wanted to visit Norway, and that I had a return ticket to Russia, so they let me pass“Will he ever use this return ticket?”No never“, laughs the person concerned.

“Of course, I would like to return to Russia, but that will not happen while this regime is in place.”

Roman, 19 years old

France Info

At 19, and without military experience, Roman was officially not eligible for mobilization by the Russian army. But, as he says, you never know. “We no longer trust the word of the authorities. The rules can change at any time. So, it is better to be careful and leave as soon as possible, rather than end up buried in Ukraine!“

Once the Norwegian border is crossed, Roman goes to the capital, Oslo, then goes to Paris. With his tourist visa, he can stay in France for 90 days. “People who leave Russia, they love their homeland. It’s just that they don’t like the current power. What Putin says, I don’t care for a long time!”cowardly the young man.

Cameraman by training, Roman now hopes to find a job and obtain a residence permit. Like him, thousands of Russians have already left their country, in particular via Finland, which has counted around 7 000 to 8 000 daily entries in recent days.