Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of Indians recruited into the Russian Army and sent to the frontlines in Ukraine “very strongly” with President Vladimir Putin, securing a promise that all such individuals would be swiftly sent back.
Following the deaths of four Indians serving with Russian military units in the conflict zone, pressure from the families of other recruits prompted the Indian government to facilitate their release and repatriation. India recently requested a “verified stop” to the recruitment of Indians by the Russian Army.
“Prime Minister raised this issue very strongly, emphasizing the need to return all Indian nationals to India as soon as possible,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told a media briefing after the annual summit between Modi and Putin.
“There was a sense of a promise from the Russian side on that. Now, both countries will work together to ensure their expeditious return,” he added.
Neither India nor Russia has provided official figures for the total number of Indians recruited by the Russian Army. Kwatra estimated the number to be “roughly between 35 to 50,” with 10 Indians already brought back to India in “partnership with the Russian system.”
However, some reports suggest the number could be over 100. Many Indian nationals were lured to Russia by recruitment agents with promises of jobs in other sectors, only to be recruited into the military as support staff, including cooks and helpers, sources familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
When their units moved to the frontlines, these recruits were given limited military training and made to fight. Besides the four deaths, several Indians were injured in the conflict.
Modi addressed the issue with Putin during their private meeting at the Russian leader’s dacha in a Moscow suburb on Monday evening, sources said. The Russian side agreed to discharge and facilitate the return of all Indians working in the Russian Army, one of the sources mentioned.
The release of these Indians from various Russian military units is expected within weeks, the sources added.
As pressure from the recruits and their families grew, the issue was taken up by the Indian embassy in Moscow and the Ministry of External Affairs with the Russian mission in New Delhi. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also raised the matter with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Astana last week.
Russia’s ambassador to India, Denis Alipov, stated that Russia has been “very open” in its dialogue with India on this issue and “very attentive to Indian concerns.”
“Of course, we don’t want to see Indians dying on the battlefield… This particular problem involves those agencies, mediators, and some shady individuals who misled Indian nationals in the first place,” Alipov said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently busted a human trafficking network spread across several states that lured men through social media channels and agents with promises of highly paid jobs in Russia.
