US Deported Russian Deserter Back to Russia, Then He Escaped Again
Artyom Vovchenko, 27, who deserted the Russian military in 2022, was deported from the US to Russia in August 2025 but managed to escape again a few months later, using a medical appointment to slip away and cross into Belarus.
Artyom Vovchenko, a 27-year-old Russian deserter, was deported from the United States back to Russia last August after his asylum claim was denied. However, he did not remain in custody for long. In February, he used a routine medical appointment to escape from a clinic and eventually fled via Belarus to an undisclosed country.
Vovchenko originally deserted the Russian military in 2022 shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. He lived in Indonesia, working as a mixed martial arts coach, before traveling to the US in the summer of 2024 seeking asylum. Upon arrival, he was placed in immigration detention, where he spent 13 months rotating through various centers while his case was processed. The judge who denied his claim had rejected 89% of asylum cases between 2019 and 2024, above the national average.
Deported to Moscow in August 2025, Vovchenko was handed over to military police and held in a detention center awaiting trial for desertion. During this time, he suffered a herniated disc, an injury that allowed him to see a civilian doctor. He planned his escape with the help of an NGO (name withheld as it operates covertly in Russia).
On the day of his escape, Vovchenko walked out of the clinic through a different exit, took a taxi to a station, but missed the minibus to Minsk. After panicking, a taxi driver took him to a gas station on the highway to Belarus, where a truck driver offered him a ride for a few thousand rubles. The driver was taking jackets to Belarus and agreed to drop him at Minsk airport. Border guards checked his passport but let him through without incident.
After crossing into Belarus, Vovchenko contacted the NGO and flew to another country. He now spends his time learning English on Duolingo, working with AI programs, and waiting for news on his permanent residency application. He receives support from the US-based organization Russian America for Democracy in Russia, which is fundraising for his medical treatment and legal costs.
