"Deserters threatened with serious repression can, as a rule, obtain international protection in Germany," Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in an interview with the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

"Anyone who courageously opposes Putin's regime and thereby falls into great danger, can file for asylum on grounds of political persecution," she said.

German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann tweeted using the hashtag "partial mobilization" that "apparently, many Russians are leaving their homeland -- anyone who hates Putin's path and loves liberal democracy is welcome in Germany."

Since February 24, Germany has taken in around 1 million Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion [+ 1.4M MENA 'fugees], but also welcomed Russian dissidents. According to Faeser, 438 Russian dissidents, including journalists, have also benefited from an accelerated process to obtain protection in Germany.

However, she pointed out that political asylum is not automatically granted; applicants are first subjected to security checks....

On Wednesday, officials from the EU's Baltic member states said they will not offer refuge to any Russians fleeing Moscow's partial mobilization. Earlier this week, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania closed their borders to most Russian citizens in response to the wide domestic support in Russia for the war in Ukraine....