A high-ranking politician in Russia has fled the country, marking the first escape of one of Vladimir Putin’s cabinet ministers.
Denis Butsaev has reportedly fled to the United States after dodging Vladimir Putin’s high-profile security service.
The 49-year-old was fired from his post as Deputy Minister of Natural Resources on April 22, and is said to have fled the same day.
He first went to Belarus, before going to Georgia and then flying to America. It’s unclear if he’s seeking political refuge.
He also managed to escape during a massive investigation into top-level corruption within Putin’s Kremlin.
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Other Russians have made the move to flee the country as Putin’s war in Ukraine rages on.
Back in Russia, university students are being taken from classes and dormitories, while raids are carried out on vegetable warehouses, mosques and on the street, where any young men eligible for military service are dragged to enlistment offices.
Compulsory military service has long been a sensitive issue in Russia, where many men go to great lengths to avoid being handed conscription papers.
Putin also banned men from leaving Russia from the day they are summoned to a conscription office and increased the fines for failure to appear at the enlistment office.
One former model is working out of London to help Russians flee the country, many of whom are avoiding going to the frontlines.
Ksenia Maximova is one of the most high-profile figures among UK-based activists who are bitterly opposed to the president’s brutal invasion.
The former Gucci Rush perfume model, who was born in Russia’s Ural Mountains, told of the desperation of those trying to escape over the borders following his attempt to shore up numbers at a time when Moscow’s forces are being humiliated on the battlefield.
Mrs Maximova, who has dual British and Russian nationality, told Metro of her contempt for ‘completely warped’ Mr Putin as she rallies support behind a newly-formed opposition group.
‘We are just trying to get as many people out as we can,’ she said.
Mrs Maximova, who grew up in Moscow before moving to the UK, was last in Russia four years ago and fears arrest if she returns due to her visibility in the overseas anti-Putin movement.
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