At the weekend it became known that the Russian defector Andrej Medvedev has applied for asylum in Norway.
He is a former team leader and mercenary in the notorious Wagner group, and crossed the Pasvikelva on the night of Friday.
Russian border guards sent dogs after him, and reportedly also shot at him.
BORDER SOLDIERS: Russian soldiers along the Norwegian border. The picture is from September 2013, which was the last year Norwegian border guards went on a visit across the border. Photo: Thomas Nilsen / Barents Observer
– The bullets passed right next to me. I threw the phone away into the forest, then I started running across the ice in the direction of the lights of some houses on the other side, the mercenary Medvedev told Gulagu.net.
– Like a spy thriller
Lawyer Brynjulf Risnes says that there were dramatic minutes and hours for his client. Before Medvedev got over to the Norwegian side of the border, he had to force barbed wire fences and other obstacles, says the lawyer.
– The way he tells this story, it’s like a spy thriller where you escape at the last minute, says Risnes to TV 2.
Prior to the arduous border crossing, the Wagner mercenary had been on the run internally in Russia for at least a month.
– As far as I understand, it is five to six weeks, says Risnes.
Berg: – Almost impossible
The retired border inspector Frode Berg has worked in the border area for 26 years.
He describes it as almost impossible to get over the border where Medvedev claims he has crossed.
– ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE: Frode Berg believes it is almost impossible to get over the border. Photo: Aage Aune / TV 2
– It is a game of chance and almost impossible. For someone who knows the area and is very well trained, it may at best be possible. It is not an everyday food, explains Berg.
On the Russian side, there is a wide dirt road that provides a good overview for the Russian guards.
Here, the road is monitored with cameras and sensors that will detect movements, explains the former border inspector who in 2019 was sentenced to 14 years in prison for espionage, before he was pardoned and handed over to Norway.
Furthermore, there is a three meter high fence. Under and above the fence there is barbed wire, and there are sensors that trigger an alarm directly to the Russian border guards.
THE BORDER: Picture from the Russian side of the border in September 2013, which was the last year Norwegian border guards visited the border. Photo: Thomas Nilsen / Barents Observer
– Uses civilians
Just getting there has many obstacles. Among other things, it is obligatory for civilians to report to the border guards if they see people, says Berg.
– The border guards also use civilians. We have been told by the Russian side that they are using the civilian population in the area in that they are obliged to report if they see someone unauthorized, says the retired border inspector.
Jens-Arne Høilund is border commissioner in Kirkenes. He is responsible for the border inspection at the border.
– To put it that way, you probably don’t come to a border crossing situation by chance. You have to be very determined if you’re going to make it, he says.
STORSKOG: Border Commissioner Jens-Arne Høilund at the Norwegian-Russian border crossing at Storskog in Finnmark. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
He talks about an area that is very difficult to reach.
– Just to get to the border you have to go through an area where the military has good control, explains the border commissioner.
– Russian border guards have a solid system for monitoring and control. Among other things, to get to the border area, you must have a special permit. There are checkpoints and different control methods. Everything is checked. They have control over what travels, so there is no general access, he says further.
BARBED WIRE: Russian soldiers along the Norwegian border. The picture is from September 2013, which was the last year Norwegian border guards went on a visit across the border. Photo: Thomas Nilsen / Barents Observer
Difficult terrain
In addition to the Russian authorities controlling the area, the terrain itself is difficult.
– The terrain is difficult in places and nature is inhospitable with a lot of snow, bad ice, explains Høilund.
Like the border commissioner, Berg explains that nature makes it risky.
– Elva is not sure either. There have been cases where someone has drowned in the area.
