- Published
Russian security services were waiting when the flight landed in Moscow in December.
asserted
flight → publish → December
On board were Russians the US had deported, including activists denied political asylum.
asserted
US → deport → asylum
My knees were shaking with fear," says Katya, one of the deportees.
asserted
Katya → shake → deportees
We have changed her name to protect her identity, as she remains in Russia.
asserted
she → change → Russia
Katya had left Russia and claimed asylum in the US two years earlier.
asserted
Katya → leave → US
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many countries publicly welcomed fleeing Russians.
asserted
countries → launch → Russians
But more than four years later, attitudes have hardened.
asserted
attitudes → harden → ?
The numbers of anti-war Russians forcibly returned from Western countries is rising, and Katya's experience highlights the potential risks they face.
asserted
they → return → risks
US authorities rejected her application for asylum, after she said she had provided evidence that she had taken part in protests and was a member of an opposition movement.
asserted
she → reject → movement
In Moscow, Katya says officers from the FSB security service handed all the male deportees military papers, requiring them to register with the local enlistment office, from where men are often sent to the war in Ukraine.
asserted
men → say → Ukraine
Another passenger on the flight and an activist confirmed her account.
asserted
passenger → confirm → account
The officers interrogated her, and many others, for several hours.
asserted
officers → interrogate → hours
"At one point, they found incriminating information on my phone," says Katya, "Their faces changed in a second.
asserted
faces → find → second
I was very afraid that they would simply bundle me off somewhere."
asserted
they → bundle → me
Katya was eventually released and allowed to stay with relatives.
asserted
Katya → release → relatives
But she says police continue to call her and visit her at home.
asserted
police → say → home
"I feel as if I'm in a cage, like in a zoo," she says, "Whenever I see a police car, I feel terrified and start thinking, "What if they're coming for me?"
asserted
they → feel → me
Katya showed the BBC documents and photographs confirming her story, which matches accounts from other deportees.
asserted
which → show → deportees
Removals from the US rose from 222 in 2023 to more than 1,200 in 2025, amid a wider increase in deportations under President Donald Trump's second term.
asserted
Removals → rise → term
Activists say Russian deportees included dissidents and Russian army deserters, some of whom were imprisoned or sent to war after returning to Russia.
asserted
some → say → Russia
One such case is Leonid Melekhin, an anti-war activist who sought asylum in the US after being arrested at protests in Russia.
asserted
who → seek → Russia
He had posted photographs of Russian President Vladimir Putin online with the message "Putin: murderer, fascist, usurper".
asserted
He → post → message
After being deported back home last year, Melekhin was charged with "justifying terrorism" and sentenced to six years in prison.
asserted
Melekhin → deport → prison
"We have several examples of people who got eight years in prison when they crossed the [Russian] border," says Andrei Pivovarov, from Russia's exiled opposition Anti-War Committee.
asserted
Pivovarov → have → Committee
And deportations are taking place from Europe too.
asserted
deportations → take → Europe
His organisation has changed its advice to dissidents escaping Russia: the EU is no longer safe, it is better to seek refuge elsewhere.
asserted
it → change → refuge
Germany has sharply increased the number of Russian nationals it deports.
asserted
it → increase → nationals
Seven were sent back in 2023, rising to more than 110 in 2025, according to German government figures.
uncertain
Seven → send → figures
More than 21,000 Russians sought asylum in Germany between 2022 and 2025, but the proportion of positive decisions fell from 29% in 2023 to just 6.8% in the first eleven months of 2025.
asserted
proportion → seek → 2025
"Protection is only granted if there is an actual, well-founded fear of persecution," Germany's migration and asylum agency, BAMF, told the BBC.
asserted
agency → grant → BBC
Last year, Berlin suspended its humanitarian visa programme for Russians, and across the EU, the proportion of Russian applicants granted some form of asylum protection fell from 23% in 2024 to around 17% in the first nine months of 2025, according to EU data.
uncertain
proportion → suspend → data
Russian opposition activists fleeing repression have become caught up in a wider crackdown on immigration, as governments across Europe and the US toughen rules amid political pressure over high numbers of irregular migrants and asylum applications, as well as over security concerns.
asserted
governments → flee → concerns
Western governments are "focused on limiting humanitarian programmes and asylum seekers", says lawyer Anastasia Burakova, founder of rights group Kovcheg (Ark), which helps anti-war Russians leave the country.
asserted
Russians → focus → country
The clampdown is "in response to public concerns and rising support for right-wing populist parties", she adds.
asserted
she → rise → parties
Following a negative asylum decision, Russian nationals are often given the chance to leave independently, but a rising number are being forcibly returned to Russia, usually escorted via third countries.
asserted
number → follow → countries
Several Russian activists in exile told the BBC that immigration officials had told them they faced "no danger" in Russia, and that officials often lacked an adequate understanding of the risks that activists face.
asserted
activists → tell → that
"I tried to explain that if they sent me back, I would be put in prison, or sent to war where I'd be killed," explains former soldier Artyom, who deserted from the Russian Army in 2022 after officers threatened to send him to Ukraine.
asserted
officers → try → Ukraine
"They just didn't believe me."
asserted
They → believe → me
He says he provided US authorities with proof that a criminal investigation had been opened against him back in Russia for desertion.
asserted
investigation → say → desertion
But he was put on a deportation flight back to Moscow via Egypt.
asserted
he → put → Egypt
…and 29 more, not listed.
The Aporia
