Ravi Moun was one of these deployed persons. In early January last year, he was excited to travel to Russia from his small village in the north Indian state of Haryana. The 21-year-old had dropped out of school after 10th grade to search for work. At this time, a local agent contacted him claiming to give him a lucrative job in transportation in Moscow. He sold his family’s one-acre land to cover travel costs, nearly 11.5 lakh rupees or almost $14,000. His brother said that when he arrived he was inducted into the Russian military to fight in the war in Ukraine instead. He last spoke to his family on 12 March 2024 informing them that he had been digging trenches to bury casualties in Ukraine which was a lost territory to Russia’s larger army.
On July 8 2024 during the 2-day visit of Narendra Modi to Moscow he discussed this issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where Russia promised to discharge Indians who were falsely induced to join its army. Ravi Moun’s death came days after the visit.
Following Modi’s visit, a spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that at least 50 Indian nationals had contacted the ministry with requests to end their employment in the Russian army. The revelation that Indian men were fighting in Russia was first brought out in March 2024 when the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said it had uncovered a “major human trafficking network” that extends from New Delhi to Tamil Nadu.
According to the CBI, Russia used social media platforms and local agents to lure people to the country by offering them jobs, admissions to ‘dubious private universities,” and “free discounted” visa extensions. Once the men arrived in the country their passports were taken and they were “trained in combat roles and deployed at front bases in Russia-Ukraine war one against their wishes,” the CBI said.
One of the entrapped was Azad Yousuf Kumar, a 31-year-old engineering graduate from Pulwama, who left last December after a YouTuber offered him a job in Dubai.
“They are constructing biners in the forests right now. They have moved forward from the Black Sea,” his brother Sajad told Press Trust of India. A social media post showed 7 Indian men in Russian uniforms crying for help, claiming that they were forced to fight for the Russian army. Their claims suggest they were threatened with a 10-year jail sentence. Later that month The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the death of two Indian nationals death on the frontlines which was followed by 2 more deaths in June.
Later the issue was raised by India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar raised the issue during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Astana in July. India is not the only country whose nationals have joined to work for the Russian army to fight Ukraine, Sri Lank, and Nepali citizens were also drawn.
Jayprakash says that Modi’s visit to Moscow is seen as a success in India. After the issue was raised as a concern to various Russian authorities on various levels, the number of Indians serving in their army has declined from 100 to 63, and 121 have been discharged.
This situation underscores the vulnerabilities faced by individuals from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who seek opportunities abroad. Such deception not only is a violation of human rights but also creates diplomatic tensions. India, which is still appealing for a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine, is now facing the complex situation of its citizens being forcefully inducted into the war. Keep Reading Questiqa India for more.
