Finland had planned to deport a Russian mother and son who helped Ukrainian refugees. Instead, it’s granting them asylum.

Source: TV Rain

Finland has granted asylum to Russian nationals Olga and Nikita Belov, former St. Petersburg municipal councilor Svetlana Utkina told TV Rain. Finnish authorities had planned to deport the mother and son to Russia this spring.

The Belovs left Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Nikita Belov said he decided to leave after refusing to take part in an “unnamed secret project” at the I.P. Bardin Central Research Institute of Ferrous Metallurgy. He said the institute’s management assured him the project was unrelated to the war, but he later learned otherwise.

In Finland, the Belovs helped Ukrainian refugees through the volunteer organization FinEst Volunteers. In spring 2026, they were summoned to a police station and told they would be deported. In August, a court ordered a review of their case. The Belovs’ lawyer said the family had provided “a great deal of new evidence” that they could face persecution in Russia.

Finland had planned to deport a Russian mother and son who helped Ukrainian refugees. Instead, it’s granting them asylum.

Further reading

Kazakhstan is reportedly preparing for a mass deportation of anti-war Russians. Is anywhere safe for those fleeing Kremlin repressions?

Central Research Institute of Ferrous Metallurgy named after Bardin

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Finland had planned to deport a Russian mother and son who helped Ukrainian refugees. Instead, it’s granting them asylum.

Further reading

Kazakhstan is reportedly preparing for a mass deportation of anti-war Russians. Is anywhere safe for those fleeing Kremlin repressions?

Central Research Institute of Ferrous Metallurgy named after Bardin

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