DOUBT was "cast yesterday on the tale of two Russian soldiers" who arrived in Galway seeking political asylum after claiming they had deserted their army unit fighting in Chechnya.
A card written to the Irish Red Cross suggested that the two men might previously have been in London. An Irish Red Cross spokesman, Mr Des Kavanagh, said he believed the men were most likely on their way to London.
Gardai attached to the Aliens, Office at Mill Street station in Galway confirmed that the men had not been seen since Sunday night, when they failed to return to a guesthouse where the card was found. The men had completed documentation with a view to seeking refugee status and had been free to go pending a decision by the authorities.
While part of their story did not tally, Mr Kavanagh said, he believed they were soldiers as they had said on the card that they feared they would be killed if they were returned to Russia. The men claimed to be Mr Mikhail Udalstov and Mr Ivan Solovei, both 25, and to have hidden in trucks and ships as they made their way west.
"We believe the two are on their way to London," Mr Kavanagh said. "It would appear from the card that they were previously there. They were very grateful to us and apologised for misleading us. They said they would rather sleep on the streets here rather than have to go back to Russia, because they were terrified that they might be killed if they returned.
Their message was written on the back of a good wishes card given to them by some children on their arrival in Galway.
A spokesman for the British Red Cross in London said that it had no record of the men. While it did not help process asylum applications, it provided a tracing service for families wishing to find relatives who arrive in Britain seeking asylum.
The British Home Office said it did not discuss individuals seeking asylum.
The Russian Federation embassy in Dublin said it would take some time to establish if the men were deserters.