Russia reportedly forcefully sends Indian citizens to war against Ukraine
Illustrative photo (Photo: Getty Images)
Russia has deceitfully recruited citizens of India for the war against Ukraine and is now forcibly sending them to the front lines, according to News18 and an Indian journalist from the NDTV channel, Uma Sudhir.
What is known about this situation
Seven citizens of India published a video appeal stating that they are being forced to fight for Russia against Ukraine.
They allegedly arrived in Russia to celebrate the New Year at the end of December 2023. Then, according to their words, the tour agent also offered them to visit Belarus, to which they agreed.
"We didn't know we needed a visa. When we arrived in Belarus, the agent asked us for money, and then disappeared," said one of the Indian citizens.
Indians were sent to the front lines
After that, they were detained by the police and handed over to decision-makers who forced them to sign documents. Since the documents were written in Russian, the Indian citizens did not understand their content but still signed them.
They were told that the alternative to military service in the Russian army could be imprisonment for 10 years.
"Now we are being forced to fight in the war against Ukraine," they say.
For 15 days, they underwent military training and were then sent to the combat zone.
23-year-old man who said he is from #Gurdaspur #Punjab #GagandeepSingh called @ndtv @ndtvindia to appeal to @MEAIndia @states_mea @DrSJaishankar to help them return to India; says 7 of them who met in Russia may be deployed any time, without any training, to fight war in #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/re6eFuyY1v
— Uma Sudhir (@umasudhir) March 4, 2024
Deceased Indian сitizen
The Embassy of India in Russia has reported the tragic death of Indian citizen Shri Mohammed Asfan.
"We are in contact with the family and the Russian authorities. The mission will make efforts to repatriate his remains to India," the statement said.
Media reports indicate that 30-year-old Asfan, originally from Hyderabad, was killed during Russia's war against Ukraine.
He and several others were deceived by agents and recruited as "assistants" to participate in the war on the side of the Russian army. Asfan's family had previously appealed to the government to help return Indian citizens from the combat zone.
Russia recruits Indian citizens for war
The statement from the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs came after a local newspaper reported that last year, about 100 Indians were hired on contracts for a period of not less than a year.
Citizens from many countries sought employment in the Russian army, including from neighboring Nepal.
