"we signed a contract in Russian and unwittingly became soldiers"
At least a dozen Indian citizens have been swindled by agents into fighting for Russia against Ukraine.
It was reported that Hemal Ashwinbhai from Gujarat was killed in a missile attack.
His father said Hemal was posted 12 miles inside Ukraine’s border and called him every few days when he had access to the mobile network.
Families of the remaining men have now urged the government to get them back home.
Aged between 22 and 31, the men were hired as “helpers in the military establishment in Russia” However, they were allegedly sent to the battlefield under the pretext of “training”.
It is suggested that dozens of Indians have joined the Russian army.
But a Russian defence ministry source said the actual number recruited in the past year is around 100.
India’s foreign ministry has acknowledged “that some Indian nationals have enlisted for support roles with the Russian army”.
In a statement, the ministry said:
“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.”
The ministry also urged “all Indian nationals to exercise due caution and stay away from this conflict”.
Some of the men have explained how they were duped by agents and sent to the battlefield.
According to victims and families, agents demanded Rs. 300,000 (£2,800) under the pretext of a Russian passport after a few months of army service.
Some relatives have said the Indian men were lured to Russia by the promise of higher salaries.
Only one person has successfully returned to India after escaping Moscow.
One Uttar Pradesh man said they were “were brought here by BabaVlog [a YouTube channel run by an Indian], and promised a salary of 150,000 rupees [a month]. We were not told that we are being drafted in an army”.
Those duped lack war combat experience, with one claiming he was recruited through a social media platform.
He said: “In Moscow, we signed a contract in Russian and unwittingly became soldiers sent to fight in the war. We’ve been deceived.
“Please get us out of this place. Otherwise, they will send us to the front. There is artillery [fire] and drones falling all over. We have zero experience in fighting a war. The agents have put us in this fix.”
Another reported being stranded in Mariupol, Ukraine, along with another Indian and nine others from Nepal and Cuba.
He told BBC: “My commander kept saying that use your right hand to shoot, use your left hand to shoot, shoot above, shoot down.
“I had never touched a gun. It was extremely cold, and with the gun in my left hand, I ended up shooting my foot.”
Only Shaikh Mohammed Tahir, of Gujarat, was able to avoid training or deployment in the war zone.
The issue hit headlines after Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi raised it.
On January 23, 2024, he wrote to the foreign ministry, seeking government intervention to bring the men back home.
Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of India’s Congress party, claimed that around 100 Indians have been “recruited in the Russian army as helpers” in the past year.
He said: “Shockingly, some of them have been forced to fight alongside Russia’s forces on the Russia-Ukraine border.
“Some of the workers have also said that their passports and documents had been seized, leaving them stranded and rendering them incapable to return home.”
When the Russia-Ukraine war began in 2022, there were a few reports of some Indians voluntarily joining the Ukrainian army.
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