Two Russian opposition figures from Aleksei Navalny's party asked for political asylum at the Ukrainian border on June 15, Ukraine's Border Guard Service said.
"Men arrived at the checkpoint and after showing foreign passports of the Russian Federation, immediately expressed their intention to seek protection on Ukrainian territory due to political harassment in Russia," the service said.
Border agents screened the two men along with Ukraine's SBU security service and determined that they belonged to the opposition bloc led by Navalny, which has been persecuted for its political activity.
Both men were allowed to cross the border and were sent to the migration service, Ukrainian authorities said, without providing the men's names.
Navalny and at least 1,500 of his followers were arrested on June 12 in Moscow and other cities across Russia for unauthorized anticorruption protests. Navalny was jailed for 30 days.
