Russia never tried to recruit Indians to fight in Ukraine conflict – embassy

The Russian authorities have never made any effort to recruit Indian citizens into the army and send them to fight in the Ukraine conflict, Moscow’s embassy in New Delhi has said. It added that the two countries are working closely to repatriate those who ended up in the military.

In a statement on Saturday, the embassy addressed reports of a number of Indians serving as contract soldiers in the Russian military, acknowledging that there “have been unfortunate instances of casualties among them” in the Ukraine conflict.

The Russian Embassy expressed “deep condolences” to the Indian government and to the families of the deceased, adding that the two countries are working closely to discharge Indian nationals who voluntarily signed up for military service in Russia. It added that Moscow will honor all of its contractual obligations to the Indian citizens, including payment.

The embassy also stressed that the Russian government “has at no point in time been engaged in any public or obscure campaigns, more so in fraudulent schemes, to recruit the Indian nationals for military service in Russia.”

According to India’s Central Bureau of Investigation, Indian nationals were lured to the battlefront by human traffickers who offered lucrative jobs, admission to “dubious private universities,” and visa extensions. It said the traffickers, who operated in several states, attempted to attract potential soldiers through social media and local agents. In May, the agency said it had arrested several suspected recruiters.

On Friday, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that a total of 91 Indians had been recruited into the Russian military, and that eight have been killed so far. He noted that 69 Indians are still awaiting discharge, and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “personally” raised the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting last month.

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