‘Came to Russia as tourists, forced to fight war,’ 7 Indians claim in video

Despite a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on February 26 dismissing media reports about some Indians seeking discharge from the Russian Army, there are more stories emerging about Indian youth going to Russia as tourists or workers and then being duped by agents into joining military service there.

One of these news reports from NDTV has used a video of seven men dressed in military-style jackets that is being circulated on X. Six of them are gathered together in one corner of the small dirty room, and the seventh person, identified as 19-year-old Harsh from Karnal in Haryana, has recorded a video of them explaining the dire situation they are in and pleading for help.

They reportedly went to Russia on December 27 last year to celebrate the New Year and had a Russian visa that was valid for 90 days. They were then tricked by an agent who took them to Belarus, not knowing that they needed a Belarus visa to enter that country. The agent asked them for more money, and then left them stranded in Belarus. They were caught by the police and handed over to the Russian authorities, who made them sign some documents. And they were now being forced to fight for Russia in their war against Ukraine, they claimed in the video.

Harsh’s mother told NDTV that her son went to Russia in search of a job on December 23, and was caught by Russian soldiers who took away his passport and then threatened him with 10 years in jail and recruited him into the army. Harsh told his family that he was compelled to undergo military training. His mother appealed to the Indian government to bring her son back home safely.

‘Go to jail for 10 years or join the Russian army’

Another person in the video is believed to be Gurpreet Singh. His brother in India, Amrit Singh, alleged that Gurpreet was forced into military service in Russia. He said they were made to sign documents in Belarus that were in Russian, and were given the option of being imprisoned for 10 years or joining the Russian army.

There are reports about men from other states in India who were promised various low-level jobs in Russia and were taken there by agents who also managed to extract ₹3 lakhs from each of them, only to be abandoned to face a similar situation as the seven men in the video.

There are also reports by BBC News about men aged between 22 and 31 being hired as “helpers in the military establishment in Russia”, and then allegedly sent to the battlefield in the war with Ukraine supposedly for “training”, according to their families.

Most of the men hail from poor families, and their parents or siblings work as auto drivers, tea sellers, or street-side vendors. Agents reportedly recruit people not only from India but also from Sri Lanka, Nepal, and the UAE, promising them a Russian passport after a few months of military service.

Some of the Indians working in the UAE were allegedly promised higher salaries, more than double their earnings. Their families took loans to pay the agents the required sum of ₹3 lakhs.

Youth from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kashmir, Telangana, and West Bengal have all been reportedly deceived by agents to meet with similar fates.

Taken to Russia by 'BabaVlog'

One man from Uttar Pradesh, reports BBC News, recorded a video from a safe location in Moscow in end-January in which he said they were taken to Russia by BabaVlog, a YouTube channel run by an Indian, with the promise of a salary of ₹1.5 lakhs. They had no inkling that they would be made to join the Russian army, he said.

Yet another man from Uttar Pradesh in a video message said he had been recruited through a social media platform. He claimed that he and two other Indians had suffered combat injuries, and requested that they be rescued before they were sent to the front.

All these men who have unwittingly been drafted into the Russian army have no military background and no intention of fighting a war.

Opposition leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM MP and Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Congress, have raised the issue with the Indian government and have sought the government’s intervention to bring the hapless men back to India.