The five Russians have been living in the departure and duty-free zone at Incheon International Airport since October, unable to enter South Korea, which refuses to grant them refugee status, after they fled Russia to avoid partial mobilization announced by Vladimir Putin in September. , reports CNN.

Five men fled Russia after Putin announced the partial mobilization of reservists for the war in Ukraine.

South Korea’s Ministry of Justice rejected their request for refugee status.

Those requests “do not merit evaluation” because the denial of the mobilization order cannot grant refugee status, their lawyer, Lee Jong-chan, told CNN.

However, according to the lawyer, they should take advantage of the status of political refugees, given that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is “condemned by international law.”

The Russians appealed the decision of the South Korean ministry, several human rights organizations are asking Seoul to recognize them as refugees.

However, waiting for the procedure to continue, they are forced to stay at the airport.

Thus, five men have been living on “one-time meals”, “bread and drink” for more than three months.

They can shower and wash their clothes by hand, but have “limited access to medical care and no support for their mental health, which is important given their precarious situation,” Lee Jong-chan points out.

Like them, many Russians fled the country after Putin’s partial mobilization.

According to CNN, more than 200,000 people fled to Georgia, Kazakhstan and the European Union (EU) in the weeks following Putin’s announcement.