Firstpost
  • Home
  • Video Shows
    Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports
  • World
    US News
  • Explainers
  • News
    India Opinion Cricket Tech Entertainment Sports Health Photostories
  • Asia Cup 2025
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
Trending:
  • PM Modi in Manipur
  • Charlie Kirk killer
  • Sushila Karki
  • IND vs PAK
  • India-US ties
  • New human organ
  • Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale Movie Review
fp-logo
From being treated like 'slaves' to witnessing friend's death, plight of Indian men duped into joining Russian army
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
  • Home
  • India
  • From being treated like 'slaves' to witnessing friend's death, plight of Indian men duped into joining Russian army

From being treated like 'slaves' to witnessing friend's death, plight of Indian men duped into joining Russian army

FP Staff • September 14, 2024, 12:58:16 IST
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter

The four men who returned to India on Friday said that at least 60 others fell prey to the scam while many of them are still in Russia. They said that the youths were ‘shipped out of India’ last year in December with the promise of jobs as helpers or security personnel

Advertisement
Subscribe Join Us
Add as a preferred source on Google
Prefer
Firstpost
On
Google
From being treated like 'slaves' to witnessing friend's death, plight of Indian men duped into joining Russian army
Representative Image- AFP

Four Indian men who were ‘duped’ into joining the Russian Army and fight the war in Ukraine received a rousing homecoming welcome as they finally flew back to India. These men were the ones who made a heart-wrenching video urging the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government to rescue them from Russia.

Earlier this year, a group of men claimed that they were fraudulently drafted into the Russian Army under the pretext of “lucrative job offers”.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD

The External Affairs Minister had been making efforts to repatriate the Indian citizens but the final push to those efforts came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia when he raked up the issue with President Vladimir Putin. Following their discussion, Moscow agreed to send back all the Indians who had been hired by the Russian army to fight on the battlefield against Ukraine.

More from India
'First Assam visit after Op Sindoor': PM Modi inaugurates projects worth Rs 18,530 cr 'First Assam visit after Op Sindoor': PM Modi inaugurates projects worth Rs 18,530 cr India to host fifth Coast Guard Global Summit in Chennai in 2027 India to host fifth Coast Guard Global Summit in Chennai in 2027

‘Treated like slaves’

The four men who returned to India on Friday said that at least 60 others fell prey to the scam while many of them are still in Russia. They said that the youths were “shipped out of India” last year in December with the promise of jobs as helpers or security personnel.

Mohammad Sufiyan, from Telangana, told Times of India, “We were treated like slaves. We were woken up at 6 am every day and made to work 15 hours straight - with no rest or sleep. The conditions were inhuman. We were given meagre ration. Our hands were blistered, our backs ached and our spirits were broken.”

Impact Shorts

More Shorts
'New dawn': PM Modi meets Manipur violence victims in first visit since 2023 unrest

'New dawn': PM Modi meets Manipur violence victims in first visit since 2023 unrest

CP Radhakrishnan takes oath as Vice President of India

CP Radhakrishnan takes oath as Vice President of India

He added that if they tried to show any signs of exhaustion, they were fired upon to force them back to work.

Among the tasks that they were asked to do included digging trenches, firing AK-12 and AK-74, hand grenades and other explosives.

The men were completely disconnected from the world as their phones were confiscated by the army. Sufiyan said that he and his companions never knew their exact whereabouts and their only solace was a hope that they would get home soon.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD

“Every day we woke up not knowing if it would be our last. The sound of gunfire and explosions became a constant backdrop to our lives, and we lived in perpetual fear,” said another man Syed Ilias Hussaini from Karnataka.

‘Friend was blown to death’

Sufiyan recalled that they had to witness other soldiers “dropping dead” regularly.

He said, “Hamil, a very good friend of mine from Gujarat, was blown to death in a drone attack. He was part of a team of 24 soldiers, including one Indian and one Nepali. It shook me up.”

The death of a close friend was the Indian men following which they told their families about the situation and requested EAM Jaishankar to repatriate them from the warzone.

Tags
India Russia Russia-Ukraine war
End of Article
Latest News
Find us on YouTube
Subscribe
End of Article

Impact Shorts

'New dawn': PM Modi meets Manipur violence victims in first visit since 2023 unrest

'New dawn': PM Modi meets Manipur violence victims in first visit since 2023 unrest

Prime Minister Modi visited Churachandpur, Manipur, meeting displaced people from ethnic clashes. Modi laid foundation stones for 14 development projects worth over ₹7,300 crore in Churachandpur. Opposition criticized Modi's visit as "too little, too late" and questioned its impact on healing wounds.

More Impact Shorts

Top Stories

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Top Shows

Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports

QUICK LINKS

  • Mumbai Rains
Latest News About Firstpost
Most Searched Categories
  • Web Stories
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • IPL 2025
NETWORK18 SITES
  • News18
  • Money Control
  • CNBC TV18
  • Forbes India
  • Advertise with us
  • Sitemap
Firstpost Logo

is on YouTube

Subscribe Now

Copyright @ 2024. Firstpost - All Rights Reserved

About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms Of Use
Home Video Shorts Live TV