Russian man swims from Kaliningrad to Lithuania in failed asylum attempt

A 68-year-old Russian man swam down the Nemunas River from Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave to neighbouring Lithuania to seek asylum, only to be returned to Russia.
A 68-year-old Russian man, who travelled from the Russian Baltic sea enclave of Kaliningrad to Lithuania by river was met by border guards on the riverbank on Thursday afternoon and was sent back without being granted asylum.

“After the swim, he was provided with dry clothing,” Lithuania’s State Border Guard press service told Euronews. “More details about his journey, such as the exact distance covered, the route or how long he was in the water, cannot currently be provided.”

The man allegedly told Lithuanian authorities that he was fleeing Russia because of persecution over his activity on social media, according to the Lrytas news portal.

But after assessing the circumstances, "inconsistent" information provided by the man and “information concerning the threat posed by this person if he were to enter the EU”, Lithuanian authorities decided to return him, a spokesperson for Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service, Giedrius Mišutis, told Lrytas.