(MOSCOW, RUSSIA) Russian citizens deported from the United States were met not by relatives or lawyers, but by military officers, when a charter flight landed at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport on December 9, 2025. All men on board were handed military draft summonses moments after stepping onto Russian soil, placing them under instant military registration and exposing many to the risk of conscription into the war effort.
Who was on the flight and how the return unfolded
The group included 64 Russians who had been removed on a deportation flight arranged by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after immigration cases in the United States were closed against them. The flight began in Arizona and included detainees of several nationalities.
- Reports say Iranians and Arabs were among those on the U.S. leg of the journey.
- The Russian group was then transferred in Cairo to a chartered Egypt Air flight bound for Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport.
During the stopover in Cairo, deportees’ phones and personal belongings — which had been taken while in U.S. custody — were returned. Some used that brief window to contact family and lawyers, believing the worst was behind them.
Arrival in Moscow: immediate detention and draft papers
Once the plane touched down in Moscow, passengers were met by officers from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and by military enlistment officials ready to serve paperwork on the spot.
Several passengers were:
- Held for hours by the FSB inside the airport.
- Questioned while their passports and other documents were withheld.
- Given military draft summonses, tying them to enlistment offices in their home regions and making future mobilization far more likely.
Rights advocates say this kind of immediate drafting risk turns every deportation flight into a potential pipeline from foreign immigration detention to the Russian army.
“A great tragedy” — description used by activists for the fate of people who sought safety but were returned without protections.
Notable case: detention and criminal charges
Among those on board was 69‑year‑old Zair Syamiullin, who did not even make it out of the terminal. Russian authorities had requested his arrest in a case involving alleged fraud amounting to 123 million rubles. He was detained immediately upon arrival, illustrating that deportees can face not only conscription but also prosecution the moment they land.
For waiting family members, the scene underscored how quickly a deportation can turn into imprisonment.
Reasons people feared return to Russia
Many of the Russians on the December flight had told U.S. authorities they feared returning home:
- Some had requested asylum, citing political persecution because of their anti‑war views or past activism.
- Others were draft dodgers who left Russia after the start of large‑scale mobilization and later ended up in U.S. immigration detention.
Despite these claims, their cases did not result in legal protection, and they were deported from the United States.
Pattern and broader concerns
This was already the third major deportation flight of Russian citizens from the U.S. in 2025, following removals in June and August. Activists tracking these cases say that people on earlier flights were also:
- Detained,
- Pressured, or
- Sent directly to enlistment offices on arrival.
Each new flight increases concern among lawyers and human rights groups that rejected asylum seekers may face prison or forced military service once no longer under U.S. protection.
Dmitry Valuev, president of the group Russian America for Democracy in Russia, confirmed that men on the December flight received draft papers immediately after landing. Valuev called the situation a “great tragedy” for people who turned to the U.S. system for safety but failed to obtain asylum. He warned that deported Russians with clear anti‑government views are at especially high risk, since local officials can both punish dissent and fill conscription quotas at the same time.
Legal and policy implications
Cases like this raise hard questions under international law. States are bound by the principle of non‑refoulement, which prohibits sending people back to places where they face persecution or a real risk of serious harm. Yet:
- Immigration judges and asylum officers must apply strict legal tests.
- Many applicants fall short, especially if they lack legal representation or cannot clearly explain their fear.
Analysis by VisaVerge.com indicates Russian applicants have struggled to prove that general fear of mobilization alone is enough to win asylum, unless they can show a personal history that marks them out for special danger.
U.S. officials rarely comment on individual removal cases, but ICE says its charter flights follow court orders and final decisions issued in immigration proceedings. The agency describes such flights on its official site, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as a standard part of enforcing deportation orders.
Once people are transferred to foreign authorities at the destination airport, U.S. control over what happens next effectively ends, even when there are known risks tied to political repression or war.
Risks for deportees returning during wartime
For deportees returning to Russia during wartime, these risks are concrete:
- Men who receive draft papers at the airport can be called up later with little warning.
- Refusing to serve can lead to criminal charges.
- Opposition activists, bloggers, and attendees of anti‑war rallies abroad fear security services will scrutinize their social media and public statements the moment they reappear in Russian databases.
Advocates say some passengers on the December flight had already spoken about persecution fears while in U.S. custody.
Sequence of events (summary)
- Deportation order and detention in a U.S. facility (Arizona).
- Flight transfer with detainees of multiple nationalities.
- Stopover in Cairo: phones and belongings returned; brief contacts with family/lawyers.
- Arrival at Domodedovo Airport, Moscow: met by FSB and military enlistment officials.
- Some passengers detained and questioned; passports withheld for hours.
- Issuance of military draft summonses; at least one immediate criminal detention.
What this means for people still in the U.S.
The December flight has become a warning sign for thousands of other Russians in the United States whose cases remain pending:
- Some are in detention, while others live in communities across the country with final removal orders they hope to reopen.
- News that deported people are being drafted straight from the airport may now factor into legal arguments about the risk of harm if returned to Russia — particularly for those with public records of opposing the war.
Lawyers say each new deportation and every report of forced conscription on arrival will likely be used as evidence in future court hearings to show judges that return to Russia carries far more than just economic hardship.
Key takeaway: Reports of immediate drafting and detention upon return turn deportation into a potentially severe human‑rights and life‑threatening issue, and may influence asylum and removal decisions going forward.
On Dec. 9, 2025, a chartered deportation flight carrying 64 Russians arrived at Moscow’s Domodedovo. Passengers were met by FSB and military enlistment officials; many had documents withheld, were questioned, and were handed military draft summonses immediately, increasing risks of conscription or prosecution. One detainee faced fraud charges alleging 123 million rubles. Activists warn these deportations may contravene non‑refoulement concerns and could be used as evidence in future U.S. asylum proceedings.
