Govt 'pressing hard' for early discharge of Indians duped to fight in Ukraine war, stranded in Russia

Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), on Friday, said that efforts are underway to bring back the 20 Indians who have been stranded in Russia after being duped to fight for the country in the war with Ukraine. The Ministry had first spoken about these Indian nationals a fortnight ago.

Jaiswal said that the Government of India (GoI) is in touch with authorities in Moscow regarding their early discharge– a statement similar to the one made on February 29.

“We are pressing very hard with the Russian authorities for early discharge of our people who are stuck there,” he said at the Ministry’s weekly media briefing.

The spokesperson also provided an update about the mortal remains of the two people- Hemil Mangukiya from Gujarat and Mohamed Asfan from Hyderabad- who had died on the frontline in Russia.

“The paperwork of their mortal remains has been done. The funeral agency, which we have engaged, has handed over the bodies. We are in touch with the family and with the Russian authorities. Hopefully, we will have the mortal remains in India by Sunday or thereabout,” Jaiswal said.

Several Indian citizens, currently stuck in Russia, were reportedly lured to the country on the false pretext of safe jobs as “military helpers”. Some were promised high pay, Russian citizenship, and other benefits. The jobs were posted by ‘Baba Vlogs’, a YouTube channel with around three lakh subscribers.

In the first week of March, a video made by a group of Indians facing a similar ordeal went viral. The clip showed several men in army fatigues inside a room with a closed window. The men claimed that they had arrived in Russia on tourist visas and were subsequentlydetained by the police for not possessing a “slip”. They were forced to join the Russian Army as “helpers”.

However, they were soon enlisted for training in arms and ammunition.

With inputs from agencies