HELSINKI: Finland is investigating a man who illegally crossed the border from Russia seeking asylum, the border force said on Monday, with media reporting the man to be a former Wagner mercenary.
Named only as “Yevgeny”, the man has publicly claimed to belong to the Russian paramilitary company on social media and recently published videos criticising Russia’s military leadership, according to public broadcaster YLE.
Founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner earned worldwide notoriety for its brutal methods in the pursuit of the Kremlin’s goals in Africa, the Middle East and the Ukraine war alike.
Following a short-lived rebellion against Moscow, the mercenary group was disbanded in the wake of Prigozhin’s 2023 death in a plane crash, with Russia’s army placing its fighters under new management.
Finnish border guards arrested on June 17 an individual who had illegally crossed over the border near the town of Kitee in eastern Finland, Tomi Salmi, inspector at the North-Karelia Border Guard District headquarters, told AFP.
Salmi confirmed that an investigation was ongoing and that the man had sought asylum.
The inspector however said he would not comment on media speculation over his potential Wagner connections.
A police spokesperson said they expected the investigation to be wrapped up in early autumn.
With tensions between the two neighbours high over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland shut its 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia in December 2023.
The Nordic country is now building a 200-kilometre fence along its border with Russia, due to be completed in 2026, at an estimated cost of 380 million euros ($441 million).
In 2023, a Russian man claiming to be a Wagner deserter sought asylum in Norway after fleeing to the Scandinavian country in January of that year.
His asylum request ended up being rejected, but he was granted a temporary Norwegian residence permit because of the risks a return to Russia would entail. – AFP
