The Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday, 26 February, that India is addressing cases involving Indian men serving in the Russian army, who seek early discharge and said that many have been discharged following New Delhi’s demand.
The statement from the MEA came in response to reports suggesting that some Indians, who were promised to be employed as support and security personnel for the Russian army in Ukraine's conflict zone, have been coerced into combat alongside Russian soldiers on the frontlines.
In a press release published on the MEA website, the ministry addressed the situation, stating, "We have seen some inaccurate reports in the media regarding Indians with the Russian army seeking help for discharge.”
The Hindu, quoting a Russian Ministry of Defence official, said that around 100 Indians were recruited by the Russian Army at its Moscow recruitment centre over the last year.
“Each and every such case brought to the attention of the Indian Embassy in Moscow has been strongly taken up with the Russian authorities, and those brought to the attention of the Ministry have been taken up with the Russian Embassy in New Delhi. Several Indians have already been discharged as a result."
Earlier on Friday, the MEA said it was in touch with Moscow for the early "discharge" of Indians working as support staff to the Russian Army and urged its nationals to stay away from the conflict zone in Ukraine.
Four Men Stranded After Being Duped
Mohammed Sufiyan, a 22-year-old from Telangana, along with three others from Karnataka's Kalaburagi, reached out to their families with an urgent message: they were stranded in Russia and coerced into joining the army to fight in the conflict against Ukraine, as reported by TOI.
Sufiyan sent a distressing video to his family, dressed in army attire, explaining his group had fallen victim to recruitment fraud. He pleaded:
"Please save us, we are victims of a hi-tech fraud."
On February 20, their families sought assistance from AIMIM Leader Asaduddin Owaisi, who promptly assured them of help. Owaisi addressed the media the following day and also called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to engage in dialogue with the Russian government to repatriate young Indian men facing similar circumstances.
Owaisi wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar claiming that a dozen Indians, including three men from Telangana, fell victim to fraudulent job agents who initially promised them security positions in Russia but allegedly coerced them into participating in the conflict against Ukraine.
He urged for Jaishankar’s intervention to facilitate the return of three Indians, along with Sufiyaan, allegedly deceived by a job agent and deployed as part of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The four Indians had encountered recruitment agents during a visit to Dubai, where Sufiyan used to work, in 2023, there they were reportedly enticed with high-paying, lucrative salaries. After returning to India in November, they were sent to Russia a month later, boarding a flight from Chennai on visitor visas.
According to The Times of India, they were offered a salary exceeding ₹2 lakh per month for serving as army security aides in Russia. A family member revealed they had paid ₹3.5 lakh as a security deposit to the recruiters.
The families were shocked to learn that the young men who travelled to Russia to be "security and helpers", were now on the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, possibly recruited by the Wagner Group, a private military company who contracts mercenaries to aid Russia's invasion.
Not limited to these four, the report suggests another 60 Indians have been forcibly enlisted into Russia's private army during the Ukraine conflict. Allegedly stationed just 40 km from the Ukraine border, they managed to relay a message to their families using the mobile phone of a Russian soldier.
'Spotted a Drone': Indian Youth Killed Fighting War Against Ukraine
While the Indian government is working towards the safety of the Indian men fighting in Russia, a 23-year-old man from Gujarat, hired as a security aide by the Russian Army, met a tragic end in a Ukrainian air strike on 21 February in the Donetsk region, along the Russia-Ukraine border.
The deceased, identified as Hemil Ashvinbhai Mangukiya from Surat district, had travelled to Russia in December 2023 and started working with the Russian Army under similar circumstances as the men from Karnataka and Telangana.
23-year-old Karnataka resident Sameer Ahmad, from Gulbarga, said that Mangukiya fell victim to missiles during the attack and said that they "spotted a drone hovering above" them.
“While I was engaged in digging a trench, Hemil was practicing firing approximately 150 meters away...I, along with two other Indians and several Russian soldiers, sought refuge in the trench. The missiles struck, causing the ground to tremble. When we emerged after some time, I discovered Hemil's lifeless body," Ahmad added.
An email sent on behalf of Mangukiya’s father to the Indian consulate on 2 February urged the government to arrange for his son’s return citing the risk to his life.
The Modus Operandi
According to a letter from Owaisi to EAM Jaishankar, Mohammed Asfan, Arbab Hussain, and Zahoor Ahmed "are seeking help to return to Hyderabad" after they were misguided by Indian Agents and forced into the Russian army without any proper training either.
The individuals were reportedly sent to Russia, where they underwent basic weapons-handling training before being thrust into combat in Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Donetsk. They were misled into volunteering for military service and dispatched to the battlefield, Owaisi said.
Addressing a press conference, Owaisi stated:
"Unemployed men from Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh were promised jobs by agents in Russia, where they were told that they would work as building security agents but were duped and sent to the battlefield."
"I met the families of these men in December last year who sought help from me. I've written to the External Affairs Minister and India's Ambassador to Russia to bring them back," he added.
The brain behind the operation, Owaisi alleges, is Faisal Khan, known for his YouTube channel 'Baba Vlogs,' where he shares tips on securing job offers abroad and purportedly aids individuals in obtaining work permits to over 300,000 subscribers.
"These men made videos where they shared their ordeal. They were forced onto the frontline and faced gunfire on the battlefield. One of their companions has died in the war," Owaisi said.
In a video from December last year, Faisal Khan claimed to have obtained work permits for individuals from European countries. He later mentioned, "Work is going on with the Russian army and seven people have received work permits for Russia."
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that started in 2014. The invasion became the largest attack on a European country since World War II. It is estimated to have caused tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands of military casualties.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)