Lithuania decided to return to Russia a Russian man who requested asylum

As Lrytas writes, Lithuanian authorities decided to return to Russia a man who reached Lithuania by the Neman River and requested asylum. According to the State Border Guard Service, he is about 60 years old.

He arrived in Pagėgiai, a Lithuanian city, by river from the Kaliningrad region, after which he was detained. The decision to return concerns a Russian citizen whose details were not officially published in the border guards' statement.

Lithuanian Interior Minister Martynas Katelinas said that the detained man requested asylum, claiming persecution in Russia because of his actions on social media. According to the minister, such attempts to enter Lithuania are unacceptable and will not be allowed, and each case is assessed “individually and responsibly”.

As an earlier episode, the article cites the case of Russian citizen Daniil Mukhametov: in the summer of 2025, he jumped off the “Adler — Kaliningrad” transit train in Lithuania to avoid being drafted into the Russian army. Mukhametov then went to France and requested political asylum there.

In the summer of 2026, a court in France ruled to hand Mukhametov over to the Lithuanian authorities, and he intended to appeal this decision. The Russian man fears that Lithuania will deport him to his homeland.

Sources

• Radio Svoboda