Indian nationals, who were allegedly deceived into joining the Russian army to fight against Ukraine, would be discharged and sent home following talks between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Russia.
According to reports fixing trade imbalance between Russia and India and getting Indian citizens, who were “misled” into fighting in the Ukraine war, back home, were to be India’s top priorities during Modi’s visit to Russia.
“We want the expeditious discharge of Indians fighting in the Ukrainian conflict from the Russian military,” unnamed sources were quoted as saying in the news reports.
They said that up to 200 Indian nationals had been recruited by the Russian military to serve as support staff, such as cooks and helpers.
They said Russia has agreed to discharge all Indian nationals working in its army following discussions between the two leaders.
Reports about Indian men ‘appointed’ in Russian army for its for conflict with Ukraine have appeared in several media channels in the recent past. At least two Indians have lost their lives while fighting on Russia-Ukraine borders and many others stuck in the war zone.
Modi discussed the matter with Putin during a private dinner last night, they said, adding that the latter agreed to get the Indian men discharged from Russian army, assuring that arrangement would be made to send them home.
Meanwhile, Indian authorities could not establish any contact with Indian nationals who are believed to be serving on the frontlines because of the frequent movement of military units, they added.
A few weeks ago, the external affairs ministry had urged Indian citizens to “exercise caution while seeking employment opportunities in Russia”.
A number of Indian nationals were reportedly duped by recruiting agents based in India and Dubai into taking up jobs with the Russian military.
A human trafficking network, spread across several states that lured gullible young men through social media channels and agents with the promise of highly paid jobs in Russia, was busted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently.
Also earlier this year, a viral video showed a group of men – wearing army uniforms and claiming they were tricked into fighting the war in Ukraine, requesting for help.
