Indians lured to Russia are dying on the front lines in Ukraine

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Two Indian men reached by phone in Ukraine last year told The Washington Post that upon arriving in the war zone, they were made to sign Russian documents they could not read and their passports were confiscated. They said they were later forced to fight alongside Russian soldiers with very little military training.

After several Indian citizens were killed on the front lines last year, Indian officials took up the issue with their Russian counterparts and secured the release of dozens of men pressed into military service. In a July meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanded the early release of those who had been “misled”.

Yet some remain entangled in the conflict. Last month, responding to a question in parliament, an Indian government official confirmed that 19 Indian citizens were still serving in the Russian army.

The lingering issue has been a rare sore spot in a relationship that has grown considerably in recent years. Trade between India and Russia has increased since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, helping to blunt the impact of Western sanctions on Moscow. India is now the second-largest importer of Russian crude oil, after China, with purchases amounting to $US46 billion ($74 billion) in the last fiscal year, according to statistics released by India’s Commerce Ministry.

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Before his death, Babu had been pleading for months with the Indian embassy in Moscow to secure his release from the Russian army, the Indian Express newspaper reported.

His brother-in-law, Saneesh Scaria, told The Post by telephone from Kerala that “the Indian embassy in Moscow asked Binil to tell his commander that Prime Minister Modi had cancelled all their agreements. But the commander told him he could only go after their one-year contract was complete.”

Nearly a year ago, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation launched a human-trafficking probe against at least 19 individuals and private companies accused of luring workers to Russia, according to the official complaint.

In addition to preying on those seeking employment, agents targeted Indian students “for admission in dubious private universities in Russia,” investigators said in their complaint.

Four arrests were made in May, on charges of fraud, human trafficking and criminal conspiracy, but the suspects have since been released on bail, and there has been no reported movement in the case since.

“We have lost what was written in our fate,” said the father of Hemil Mangukiya, who was recruited for a support role but was killed on the battlefield. “The government must do something.”

The Washington Post

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