JUNEAU, Alaska - Two Russians who said they fled the country to avoid compulsory military service have requested asylum in the U.S.
after landing on a remote Alaskan island in the Bering Sea, Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski's office said Thursday.Karina Borger, a spokesperson for Murkowski, said by email that the office has been in communication with the U.S.
Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection and that "the Russian nationals reported that they fled one of the coastal communities on the east coast of Russia to avoid compulsory military service."RELATED: Officials: 98,000 Russians cross into Kazakhstan to avoid call-up to fight in UkraineSpokespersons with the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection each referred a reporter's questions to the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, which did not immediately respond Thursday.Alaska's senators, Republicans Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, on Thursday said the individuals landed at a beach near Gambell, an isolated community of about 600 people on St.