What happened
Aleksey Makarov in Malmö has been placed on a wanted list by Russian authorities after stating in the media that he is being denied a Swedish travel document following his time as a volunteer soldier in Ukraine. The Security Police has warned Makarov that the Russian regime is hunting him on Swedish soil. Despite this warning, Swedish authorities refuse to change their decision not to grant him any travel document. The Migration Agency has also provided incorrect information to Dagens ETC claiming that Makarov could obtain a national ID card.
Our analysis
When Swedish leaders give speeches, support for Ukraine is unwavering and the threat from Russia is acute. But when reality is put to the test at the Migration Agency, the rhetoric turns into the cold shoulder. Those who have actually taken up the fight against Moscow's invasion are met with bureaucratic indifference.
The Security Police is in practice saying: watch out, Putin's regime is after you. At the same time, the very same state refuses to give him the documents required to move around or live in safety. The message to new Swedes is clear and cynical: the state knows you are in danger, but refuses to give you the tools to protect yourself.
That the Migration Agency furthermore does not even keep track of its own rules – and claims that a non-citizen can obtain a national ID card – shows how carelessly the system handles people's lives. For politicians, security policy is easy points in the Riksdag. For a new Swede with Moscow on his heels, it is a bureaucratic trap.
Explained
A travel document is a special passport document that the Migration Agency can issue to individuals with a residence permit who cannot obtain a passport from their home country.