Russian lieutenant involved in full-scale invasion flees to Lithuania - the Russian service of the BBC

Russian lieutenant involved in full-scale invasion flees to Lithuania - the Russian service of the BBC

Lieutenant Ivan Korolev illegally crossed the Lithuanian border and reached Vilnius.

On August 10, he was detained by Lithuanian Border Guard operatives at the Vilnius bus station.

Ivan Korolev served in the military unit 59313-39, which belongs to the Joint Strategic Command of the Eastern Military District and is stationed in the village of Teisin, Khabarovsk Krai.

He claims that he was supplying Russian units at the front with ammunition. The Russian allegedly changed his mind about participating in the war against Ukraine, after which he illegally crossed the Lithuanian border and was detained by Lithuanian police. 

The lieutenant applied for asylum.