Two Russian men were detained after sailing 300 miles across the Bering Strait to Alaska, local media reports.

Authorities on St Lawrence Island found the two men in a small boat near the city of Gambell on Tuesday, Alaska News Source claims.

They allegedly told locals they were “fleeing the Russian military”.

A statement from the State Senator’s office said: “Given current heightened tensions with Russia, Senator Sullivan then called the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and spoke to him as well as another senior DHS official. 

“Since those calls, Customs and Border Protection is responding and going through the process to determine the admissibility of these individuals to enter the United States.”

The man claimed they had set sail from Egvekinot in north eastern Russia hours earlier.

Governor Mike Dunleavy said on Wednesday that the men had been detained.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last month ordered a partial mobilisation for the war in Ukraine, sparking a mass departure of men of fighting age.

Upwards of 260,000 people have fled the country since.