Russians risk lives to seek asylum in US, avoid fighting in Putin’s war

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[TITLE: RUSSIAN RESERVISTS FLEE] 

[JIMMIE NAME SUPER] 

[L3: RUSSIANS WASH UP ON ALASKAN ISLAND] 

SOME RUSSIANS ARE NOW RISKING THEIR LIVES TO FLEE THE WAR IN UKRAINE. 

TWO NATIONALS BRAVED THE BERING SEA BY BOAT AND LANDED ON A REMOTE ISLAND IN ALASKA. 

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[L3: RUSSIANS SEEKING ASYLUM IN US] 

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS CONFIRMED THAT THEY ARE NOW SEEKING ASYLUM IN THE UNITED STATES. THEIR DANGEROUS JOURNEY HIGHLIGHTS THE LENGTHS TO WHICH SOME RUSSIANS HAVE GONE TO AVOID BEING CALLED UP TO PUTIN’S MILITARY. HAVING SUFFERED HEAVY LOSSES IN UKRAINE, AND MULTIPLE RETREATS IN RECENT WEEKS, PUTIN’S PLAN TO MOBILIZE 300,000 MEN HAS SPARKED A MASS EXODUS. 

AN ESTIMATED 200,000 RUSSIANS HAVE FLED SINCE THE CALL-UP.

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[L3: SECURITY CONCERNS IN BERING SEA]  

THE TWO ASYLUM SEEKERS LANDED ON THE TIP OF ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND WHICH IS ABOUT 40 MILES FROM MAINLAND RUSSIA.THEY HAVE SINCE BEEN TRANSPORTED TO ANCHORAGE FOR PROCESSING. 

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ALASKAN SENATOR DAN SULLIVAN SAID IN A STATEMENT THAT THE DARING INCIDENT PROVES THAT “THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO FIGHT PUTIN’S WAR OF AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE.” HE ALSO SAID IT EXPOSED A NEED FOR GREATER SECURITY IN THE ARCTIC, WHERE RUSSIAN MILITARY SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT HAVE INCREASINGLY ASSERTED THEIR PRESENCE.

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[L3: UKRAINIAN FORCES RECAPTURE LARGE TERRITORY] 

IN THE MEANTIME, UKRAINIAN FORCES HAVE RECAPTURED 200 SQUARE MILES OF TERRITORY FROM RUSSIAN FORCES IN THE LAST WEEK. RUSSIA IS IN RETREAT ON TWO FRONTS, AFTER UKRAINE LAUNCHED MASSIVE COUNTEROFFENSIVES IN LATE AUGUST AND RECAPTURED LARGE AREAS OF TERRITORY.