Russian national who helped develop robots for Ukrainian army facing deportation from Ukraine

A Russian national who has been living in Ukraine for a decade is facing deportation from the country, Novaya Europe has learnt, despite the fact that he helped develop robotic vehicles for the Ukrainian army and is wanted for political crimes in Russia.

39-year-old Aslan Khakimov illegally crossed into Ukraine in 2015, using forged documents to acquire a Ukrainian internal passport. While in Ukraine he worked as a military engineer, developing ground-based robotic vehicles which he supplied to the Ukrainian army. He has a Ukrainian wife and several children who are Ukrainian citizens.

According to RFE/RL’s Ukrainian service, Khakimov said he fled to Ukraine after being tortured by officers from the Russian Federal Security Service for criticising the Chechen government. He was born in Kyrgyzstan, and his real name is Ruslan Pupkayev.

On 1 April 2026 Ukraine’s State Migration Service detained Khakimov, accusing him of document forgery and failing to apply for asylum, and issued him with a deportation order to Russia.

Ukrainian human rights lawyer Boris Zakharov clarified that Khakimov is not facing imminent deportation due to an intervention by the European Court of Human Rights, ordering an emergency pause to the proceedings under Rule 39, which applies in case of threat to life or risk of torture.

According to Zakharov, Khakimov has previously been sentenced in absentia by a Russian court to 20 years in prison on charges of terrorism. As such, Khakimov’s supporters argue that deportation would be an effective death sentence.

However, an appeals court in Lviv upheld Khakimov’s deportation order on 8 June. Khakimov’s lawyers have now begun a lawsuit to overturn the order in a cassation court, which began hearing the case on Thursday.

In an address to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Facebook, Khakimov said: “Since the start of the full-scale war, I've been helping Ukraine with my developments for the front: ground-based robotic systems, tracks, and airless wheels. Today, I ask for only one thing: a fair and objective review of my case."

Khakimov’s wife told RFE/RL last month that he had “made a great contribution to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and it would be wrong for Ukraine to expel him to Russia where he faces torture and death.”