In Finland, two Russians who helped Ukrainians face deportation due to denial of asylum. They fear a criminal case in Russia

Russians Olga and Nikita Belov, who left for Finland after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, were denied asylum and are now under threat of deportation, write Mediazona and the Rulehti project .

Former municipal deputy from St. Petersburg Svetlana Utkina, who lives in Finland, told Mediazona that the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat wrote about the case of the Belov mother and son. The article ( dated April 13, access via a paid link only) states that the Belovs helped Ukrainian refugees and collaborated with the FinEst volunteer humanitarian center in the Finnish city of Uusikaupunki. It opened in March, but the Belovs were actively involved in helping Ukrainians before that.

Ukrainian acquaintances of the Belovs say that mother and son collected sleeping bags, binoculars, medical supplies, blankets, wax for trench candles and helped with warm clothes and first aid kits for the military.

At the beginning of April 2026, the Belovs received negative decisions on their asylum applications, Rulehti writes. They tried to appeal the decisions in court, but to no avail. On April 24, Olga and Nikita Belov were called to the police. Belov audio-recorded the conversation (with the knowledge of the employees), and Svetlana Utkina handed over this file to Mediazona. In the recording, a police officer says that the deportation process has begun and the Belovs will be placed in custody.

Rulehti also writes that the Russians were placed in custody as part of the deportation procedure. The trial will take place on April 26.

After the police announced her deportation, Olga Belova fainted and an ambulance was called for her, writes Mediazona.

Nikita Belov fears that if they end up in Russia, their active assistance to Ukrainians in Finland could lead to charges of treason.

• The publication Turun Sanomat says that 56-year-old Olga Belova is an anesthesiologist, and Nikita Belov was working on some secret project, which, according to his superiors, was not related to the war - but then it turned out that this was not so. According to him, when he realized this, he refused to continue working, after which threats and pressure began on him and his mother. According to Svetlana Utkina, the Belovs were not activists before emigrating.