He fled Russia's draft, now he's stranded in a South Korean airport

FILE PHOTO: Vladimir Maraktayev poses for a picture in a departure lounge at Incheon International Airport Incheon, South Korea, January 19, 2023. Courtesy of Vladimir Maraktayev/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) - For two months now, 23-year-old Russian Vladimir Maraktayev has been living in an airport departure lounge.

On Sept. 24, having received draft papers calling him up for military service in Ukraine during Russia’s "partial mobilisation", the linguistics student left home in the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude and fled over the border into neighbouring Mongolia.