In India, some families claim that several young men have been sent to fight alongside Russian forces in the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia by agents under the ‘deception’ of ‘helper’ jobs, due to which distressed families have appealed to the federal government for help in bringing them back to India.
These individuals, apparently aged between 20 and 32, were promised jobs as ‘security helpers’ in the Russian military, but upon reaching Russia, they were apparently sent into the battlefield for ‘war training’ and a few have even been deployed on the frontlines.
Multiple sources have reported that the number of Indian individuals recruited in the Russian army is at least a dozen, but referring to sources from the Russian Ministry of Defense, India’s ‘The Hindu’ newspaper has informed that this number is close to 100 over the past year.
The newspaper also reported that at least one person from Gujarat, Hemal Ashon Bhai, was recently killed in a missile attack during a firing exercise.
For the first time, Indians are present on the war front. Hemal’s father told the media on February 23 that he had spoken to Hemal three days earlier.
Hemal had told them that they were stationed about 20 kilometers inside the old border from Russia to Ukraine, but there is no phone network there, so when they go out to shop in nearby markets for basic necessities every few days, they call home.
The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has admitted that ‘some Indians have signed up for ‘sport jobs’ in the Russian army’ and the government is working to bring them back and said that people should be cautious and stay away from this conflict.
The media has contacted the Russian embassy in Delhi but has not received a response yet. The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has admitted that some Indian citizens have been recruited in the Russian army for auxiliary roles.
‘Every issue that comes to the knowledge of the Indian embassy in Moscow is taken up strictly with the Russian authorities and the Russian embassy in New Delhi has been talked about the issues that have come to the knowledge of the ministry.’
The ministry said in a statement that as a result, many Indians have already been sent back.
Although apparently some Indians voluntarily joined the international army against Russian forces in Ukraine in 2022, this is the first time information has been received about the presence of Indians on the war front from Russia.
The news of Indians working in the Russian army came to light when Asaduddin Owaisi, a member of parliament from the city of Hyderabad in India, wrote a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on January 23, in which he requested the government to intervene in bringing these Indian citizens back from Russia.
People who went to Russia to work in the Russian army and their families say that agents took three lakh rupees from them to send them there and promised that they would get a Russian passport after a few months of military service in the army.
In the state of Karnataka, his father, who sells tea and eggs on a stall, tearfully told media over the phone that ‘My 28-year-old son used to work in a packaging company in Dubai. He watched a video of an agent offering a job in Russia with his three friends, where his current earnings were 90,000 to 100,000 rupees compared to 35 to 40 thousand rupees. He paid the agent three lakh rupees through a loan.’
His story reflects the stories of other people from the states of Telangana, Gujarat, Kashmir, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, who were apparently deceived. Only one person has returned home from Moscow.
The Media spoke to an Indian who is hiding in a civilian area in Russia after fleeing from the border. The media also spoke to the families of at least six Indian citizens who went to Russia.
An Indian in Russia said that he and his compatriots, along with some Nepalese, Egyptians, and Cubans, are ‘stuck’ in a war-torn area. He appealed for help, saying that ‘every day has become a test for them.’
He said that he was injured during army training. He explained, ‘My commander sometimes told me to shoot with my right hand, sometimes he told me to shoot with my left hand, shoot upwards, shoot downwards.’
He further says, ‘I had never touched a gun before. It was extremely cold at that time and during that, I accidentally shot my foot with my left hand. The bullet went through my shoe and injured my foot.’
An Indian citizen hiding in Russia told the BBC that ‘I had frostbite and I was unable to walk. I was also in a mental shock.’
The families of Indians serving in the Russian army say that most of them are stationed in areas where the mobile network is limited and often the army collects their phones to prevent stress.
Despite this, videos of some Indians apparently deployed on the border in Russia have surfaced on social media.
‘Contracts were signed in Russian language’ Indian citizens say they were sent to Russia under the guise of jobs in the Russian army. They say they do not know the Russian language and were deceived into signing contracts.
These individuals say that they were sent to Russia for jobs in the Russian army and their families also repeat these allegations that they were deceived. Most of the victims who have come forward say that they were deceived by ‘Baba V Log’ on YouTube.
They further say that there are other agents also active in sending Indians to Russia, one of whom is based in New Zealand and runs a video blog under the name of a news page and has at least one agent in Rajasthan. But they are not willing to help the people who want to return.
The media has made several attempts to contact ‘Baba V Log’ but has not received any response.
In these videos, they lift their injured right hand and say, ‘Two of my companions are still on the front line. I have run away and I am stuck at this place.’
In this video, they appeal, ‘Please get us out of here. Otherwise, they will send us to the front line. There is gunfire and drones everywhere. We have no experience of fighting. We have been trapped by the agents.’
The media spoke to an Indian on the phone who confirmed that he had released this video appeal for help around January 25 after being injured and fleeing from the front line. He said that they were stationed near Mariupol, where he met two other Indians on January 22, and both were injured.
The families of these two injured Indians told the media that they have not been in any kind of contact with them since January 1.
‘We were deceived by an agent’ According to information, the brother of an Indian youth who was injured in Russia said that they used to work in Hyderabad but were looking for opportunities to go to Australia or Canada. In this regard, they also took the ‘IELTS’ exam but decided to go to Russia after not being successful.
The brother of another youth said that he was recently engaged. They say that when they contacted Baba Blogger and his team and asked for answers, they blocked their number.
In another video message, an Indian from Karnataka said ‘He (the agent) told us that our job is a ‘security man’. After coming to Russia, he put us in the army. We are four friends who met in Dubai.’
They further say in the videos that ‘We have been deceived by an agent. The agent had told us that we are being sent only for training and we will not be taken to the front line. We do not know where our other friends are.’
Their brothers in India say that ‘We do not have any information about whether they are in the private army of Wagner in Russia or in the Russian army. We only know that they are near the border of Ukraine. They have been promised Russian citizenship after three months.’
The person confirming Hemal’s death says in an appeal to save other Indians stuck on the border between Russia and Ukraine and himself that ‘anything can happen here in one day of this wait.’
They say that he and another Indian stuck with him are also injured.
‘I had not told my family about the condition I was going through’ Unlike most victims, Sheikh Mohammad Tahir from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, managed to escape and return to India.
He says that he escaped from his camp when the locals were busy with Christmas, to avoid military training and deployment, by bribing.
He explained that they were kept in a complex in Ryazan, about 200 kilometers from Moscow, where injured soldiers from Nepal and other countries were also present.
They say that seeing their condition, they panicked and called their agent, but he reassured them that there was no need to worry, they would be safe.
But when Tahir inquired more from others, the claims of their agent turned out to be false. They say ‘I met the Russian commander stationed there and spoke to him with the help of Google Translate. He said that you are being misled.’
During this time, news of another Indian escaping from the camp had come. The commander told Tahir that if the fugitive was caught, he would either have to serve in the army or be sent to jail. (It is not clear whether that person is still in Russia or has succeeded in returning to India).
Scared, Tahir contacted Indians stationed on the Russian border, but they advised him not to come forward in any way.
They said ‘Run away from there and try to help us get out.’
Tahir turned to YouTube to find ways to get out, where he came in contact with an Indian video blogger named Pathan who is based in Russia. They know the Russian language and they helped Tahir to get out of the camp and then return to India.
This nightmare of theirs that started in December ended last week when they landed at Delhi airport. They say ‘Until then, I had not told my family about the condition I was going through. All those stationed on the border there are in bad condition and they need help.’
India’s largest opposition party Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has alleged that during the past one year, about 100 Indians have been recruited as helpers in the Russian army.
He said that ‘The surprising thing is that some of them were forced to fight alongside Russian troops on the Russian and Ukrainian border. Some workers also say that their passports and documents have been confiscated, due to which they are stuck and they are not able to return home.’
When the war between Russia and Ukraine started in 2022, there were some reports of Indian residents voluntarily joining the Ukrainian army. But for the first time, information has been received about Indian citizens fighting in the Russian army.
The BBC also spoke to an Indian citizen living in Russia who was serving near the border of Ukraine and is now not in the army.
They said that their experience was that the Russian army was transparent and shared its treaties online. But they further said that those who did not know the Russian language were being deceived by agents.