Russian asylum-seekers stranded in Incheon Airport

Vladimir Maraktaev celebrated the first day of 2023 in the departures hall at Incheon International Airport, some 2,000 kilometers away from his home in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia. It was the first time for the 23-year-old to spend New Year's Eve alone without family and friends. Instead of family gatherings and holiday feasts, he bought himself a cup of coffee for 5,000 won ($4) ― a luxury for Maraktaev who now has only a few dollars left in his pocket, having spent almost all of his savings traveling across three countries before arriving in Korea. The sophomore at Buryatia State University majoring in linguistics is among the tens of thousands of young Russian men to escape the country following President Vladimir Putin's mass mobilization order at the end of September to draft men into combat in the war with Ukraine. "I left home the night of Sept. 24, a few hours after I received the conscription notice. I decided to leave as soon as possible because they might come to get me in the morning," he said during a recent interview with The Korea Times at the airport. "I find it nothing to be ashamed of to defend my country. I would volunteer (to fight) if someone attacks us and put my loved ones in danger," said Maraktaev, adding that he already completed the compulsory one-year of military service in 2019. "But it's a totally different story when my own country is the aggressor. I will never take weapons to go and kill innocent people in Ukraine." Story has more. <br/>