Deserters will be eligible for EU visas even after Europe shuts its door to all other Russian ex-soldiers in its next round of sanctions, but the move still smacks of “populism” and could backfire.
“Visas shall be refused to individuals who are serving, or have served, in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, or any paramilitary, military-affiliated, or irregular armed group associated with, controlled by, or acting at the direction of, the Russian government since February 2022,” said the draft text of the 21st round of EU sanctions on Russia, to be on adopted 13 July, and seen by EUobserver.
But this “shall not apply in cases where a member state considers that entry or transit through its territory is required for humanitarian purposes, national interests, international obligations, or relates to dissidents or defectors from the [Russian] armed forces,” it added.
The measure was meant to improve EU security due to “Russia’s wider hybrid warfare strategies”, the draft also said.
Russian saboteurs aside, another risk was criminality by violent veterans with PTSD or alcoholism.
