Germany is ready to accept Russian defectors “who are at risk of serious reprisals,” Germany’s interior minister said in an interview published Thursday, a day after President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilization of Russian reservists to fight in Ukraine, AFP reported.

“Defectors who are at risk of serious reprisals can usually get international protection in Germany,” German Interior Minister Nancy Feser said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

“Anyone who boldly opposes Putin’s regime and thus puts himself in great danger can apply for asylum on the grounds of political persecution,” she added.

Separately, Justice Minister Marco Buschmann tweeted using the hashtag “partial mobilization” that “many Russians are apparently leaving their homeland – all who hate Putin’s ways and love liberal democracy are welcome in Germany.”

Germany took in about a million Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, but it also took in Russian dissidents.

Faser said 438 Russian dissidents, many of them journalists, have taken advantage of the fast-track process to obtain protection in Germany.

At the same time, she emphasized that political asylum is not granted automatically, but applicants will first pass a security check.

The EU is preparing for a wave of Russian migrants

In addition, the executive director of the European bloc said that the European Union will have to develop a common position regarding the entry requests of Russians who are leaving the country because of the war in Ukraine, Reuters reports.

However, the European Commission has said that member states will have to consider applications on a case-by-case basis, taking into account fundamental rights and asylum law.

“Protests took place in several cities of Russia,” the Commission’s press secretary Peter Stano said at the briefing. “This shows that Russians are voting with their feet,” he added.

“We, the European Union, are in principle in solidarity with the citizens of Russia who have the courage to show their opposition to what the regime is doing, especially when it comes to this illegal war in Ukraine,” he added.

Another spokesman said that when it comes to applications for entry at EU borders, it “must be done in accordance with EU law”, which includes respect for fundamental rights and all applicable legislation on asylum procedures.