Thread by @khodorkovsky_en

The United States is now Putin's deportation partner.

Russian political refugees who sought safety in the U.S. are being returned on charter flights. Upon return, they face hours-long interrogations by security services.

🧵Here's what is known about the latest flight:

On August 27, at least 30 Russian citizens were deported from the United States back to Russia. According to Dmitry Valuyev, president of Russian America for Democracy in Russia, most were asylum seekers who had fled political persecution. theins.ru/en/news/284453

The actual number may be higher—Anna Shumova from Russian Seattle for Freedom reports 60-65 people on that charter flight alone.

echofm.online/stories/deport…

According to activists, deportation flights to Russia have now become monthly operations. The flights operate through Cairo, and passengers are held at detention centers like Alexandria in Louisiana before departure.

The entire process remains deliberately opaque with no confirmations on Department of Homeland Security websites or any official immigration channels.

Upon arrival, deportees undergo mandatory interrogation by FSB officers and anti-extremism units. These interrogations can be as long as 4 hours.

Vladimir Osechkin from project says that Russian security services had prepared dossiers on over 60 individuals before the August flight even landed at Domodedovo Airport.Gulagu.net

Among those deported was Russian deserter Artem Vovchenko, who fled a military base in Armenia in 2022. He was detained with "harsh violence and special means," claims Osechkin.
t.me/NetGulagu/12059

This pattern started earlier. In June, 47 Russians were deported on a single flight, also routed through Egypt. At least four were detained immediately upon arrival, interrogated through the night at police stations, and forced to sign travel restriction orders.

The Russian Refugee Foundation confirms these deportations happen without warning—detainees cannot contact lawyers or family members before being placed on these flights.

The U.S. immigration system has effectively become an enforcement arm for Putin's security apparatus. ICE detention centers now function as collection points for people who fled political persecution, and charter flights deliver them directly into FSB custody.

And this is happening as Putin's regime has weaponized denunciation: now anyone can be arrested if someone claims they spread "fake news" on social media.

Opposition voices don't even need to criticize the war; someone just needs to claim they did. And in this context, the promise of asylum in the United States has been replaced with a pipeline back to the regime they fled.

These actions undermine principles of protection. They fuel Kremlin propaganda about Western betrayal. And they remind us that the weak have few allies in this world—which devastates internal opposition to Putin. How can you stand up when you have nowhere to go?

Follow @khodorkovsky_en for reliable analysis on Russia, I try to highlight aspects often missed by mainstream sources