Russia’s Foreign Ministry warns citizens against travel to Thailand, citing US ‘special operations’

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has issued a warning advising its citizens against traveling to Thailand, citing the risk of detention at Washington’s request. Thailand has a bilateral extradition treaty with the United States, and the ministry stated that Washington has “launched a real hunt for Russians” there. The United States, according to the ministry, conducts “special operations to catch” Russian citizens “without regard for the Thai authorities,” and many of those detained face threats and pressure.

Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, Washington’s “wheel of punitive justice” has spun with particular intensity, Russian officials said. With sanctions in place, many Russians “without even realizing it risk finding themselves in American crosshairs.” The ministry advises Russians who could become “targets of criminal prosecution by American authorities” to avoid not only travel to Thailand but also layovers at Thai airports.

Thailand does in fact extradite Russians wanted by the United States. In November 2025, authorities detained a “world-class hacker” with Russian citizenship, though his name was not officially disclosed. He is believed to be Alexey Lukashev, a native of Russia’s Murmansk region, a senior lieutenant in the GRU, and one of the hackers associated with the Fancy Bear group. Lukashev is suspected of involvement in the U.S. election interference case, including the hacking of Democratic National Committee servers and the email account of former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

At the same time, Thailand also detains Russians at the request of Russian authorities. In 2024, members of the band Bi-2 — who had spoken out against the war in Ukraine — were briefly jailed. Russia sought their extradition but did not succeed.