India urges Russia to release and repatriate 27 nationals recruited by military amid safety concerns
Reports suggest that many Indians, including those from Kashmir and Punjab, have been coerced into military service, despite previous assurances from Russia.
India said on Friday it has strongly urged Russian authorities to release and repatriate 27 more Indian nationals who were recruited into the Russian Army even as it reiterated its warning that taking up such job offers poses a risk to life.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Indian authorities had recently found out that more Indian nationals had joined the Russian military, with the information coming from the families of men who had been recruited.
The problem of Indian citizens being lured with lucrative offers of jobs in the Russian military has continued despite Moscow’s assertion that it stopped recruiting Indians in its armed forces in April 2024. Recent reports suggested more than a dozen Indian men, mostly from Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana, had been forced to join Russian Army units deployed on the frontlines in the war with Ukraine. Most of these men had travelled to Russia on student and business visas.
Jaiswal told a media briefing that at least 27 Indian nationals are currently serving in the Russian Army.
{{/usCountry}}Jaiswal told a media briefing that at least 27 Indian nationals are currently serving in the Russian Army.
{{/usCountry}}He said, “We have strongly raised this matter with Russian authorities in Moscow and with the Russian embassy in New Delhi and asked for them to be freed as soon as possible.”
{{/usCountry}}He said, “We have strongly raised this matter with Russian authorities in Moscow and with the Russian embassy in New Delhi and asked for them to be freed as soon as possible.”
{{/usCountry}}Indian authorities are also in close touch with the families of these men.
{{/usCountry}}Indian authorities are also in close touch with the families of these men.
{{/usCountry}}“We once again strongly urge all Indian nationals to stay away from offers being made to serve in the Russian Army as they are fraught with danger and risk to life,” he said, noting that Indian authorities had issued several advisories in this regard.
{{/usCountry}}“We once again strongly urge all Indian nationals to stay away from offers being made to serve in the Russian Army as they are fraught with danger and risk to life,” he said, noting that Indian authorities had issued several advisories in this regard.
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