Karine Jean-Pierre says U.S. would ‘welcome’ Russian men seeking asylum
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Karine Jean-Pierre says US would ‘welcome’ Russian men seeking asylum after fleeing Putin’s military mobilization
- “We see protests on the streets of Russia,” said Jean-Pierre
- White House press secretary called Putin’s war ‘unpopular’
- She said the US would ‘welcome’ asylum seekers
- Putin ordered partial mobilization of 300,000 September 21
- More than 194,000 Russian citizens have fled to Georgia, Kazakhstan and Finland since Putin’s announcement, according to the Associated Press.
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre indicated on Tuesday that the White House would offer political asylum to men fleeing Russia after President Vladimir Putin’s military mobilization.
Her comments come after some European countries have expressed their willingness to stand up to Russians who have flooded airports and border crossings after Putin said he would mobilize 300,000 reservists as his country faces battlefield losses from US-backed Americans. Ukrainian troops.
But she did not mention a specific program tailored for Russians, whose homeland faces a series of US and Western sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine in February.
“We see protests on the streets of Russia, we see people signing petitions, and I think the message they are sending us very clearly is that this war that Putin started … is not popular,” she said. “There are people in Russia who don’t want to fight Putin’s war or die for it.”
“We welcome all people seeking asylum,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about Russians fleeing the country amid Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilization order.
She spoke after numerous videos surfaced from Russia of attacks on military recruiting centers and new conscripts being told they will be sent to the front, where an estimated tens of thousands of Russian armed forces have been killed or wounded. There have even been reports of online searches for questions like how to break your arm at home in Russia, which has been interpreted as a way to avoid military service.
“We believe that regardless of their nationality, they can apply for asylum in the United States and that their application can be assessed on a case-by-case basis,” said Jean-Pierre. “We welcome all people seeking asylum, and they should.”
“There is one person who can stop this war, and that is President Putin. He’s the one who started this unprovoked, brutal war, and it’s for — it’s up to him to stop it,” she said.
Volunteers search for bodies of people killed in the Russian attack on Ukraine among the remains of a building in the city of Izium, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, September 26, 2022. Some Russians flee the country instead of joining the conflict
Exodus: Russian men and women with their luggage walk along a road after passing customs at the border control between Georgia and Russia of Verkhnii Lars, Georgia, September 27, 2022
Men have blocked Moscow airports from leaving the country
Russian vehicles wait to cross the border at the Vaalimaa border checkpoint in Virolahti, Finland, on September 25, 2022. According to the border guard, as many as 20,000 passengers could come from Russia to Finland over the weekend. Some left on foot from other checkpoints
More than 194,000 Russian nationals have fled to Georgia, Kazakhstan and Finland by car, bicycle or on foot since Putin’s announcement, according to the Associated Press.
That came after days of reports of increasing airline tickets to countries still accepting Russians amid sanctions since the Sept. 21 announcement.
Traffic jams leading from North Ossetia in Russia to the Georgian border have meandered for more than 14 kilometers.
Georgia’s interior ministry said 53,000 Russians entered the country within a week, with 98,000 to Kazakhstan and 43,000 to Finland. Others are on their way to Mongolia.