As of: March 6, 2024, 10:40 p.m
By: Nadja Zinsmeister
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A group of young Indians claim to have been lured to the Russian front in Ukraine under a pretext.
They apparently fell for Putin's recruitment tricks.
Moscow - Seven young men from India have published a call for help to the Indian government.
They claim they are being held against their will in Russia.
According to their own statement, they had planned a vacation in the country that has been at war with Ukraine for more than two years.
But instead of flying home as planned, the men are said to have been forcibly recruited as soldiers.
Tens of thousands of soldiers are fleeing Ukraine and Russia to Germany to escape the war.
In the video, which New Delhi Television
reporter Uma Sudhir shared on X on Monday,
among others , seven young men in military clothing can be seen in a room.
The reporter states that the men speak Hindi.
One of them said he was 23 years old and came from the northwestern region of Punjab in India.
He turned to the TV station to help him and his comrades.
“He says that seven of them who met in Russia can be sent to the war in Ukraine at any time and without any training,” Sudhir translates.
Indian claims to have been lured to the front in Russia as a “tourist” – what’s behind it?
The young man claims that they initially traveled to Russia as “tourists”.
They were then “tricked and forced to sign a contract in Russian to work as a cook/driver/helper for the Russian army or spend 10 years in prison.”
Now they apparently have to fear death at the front.
It is the first time that Indian citizens have claimed to have been trapped as tourists in Russia.
After the first reports emerged at the end of February about the deployment of Indians on the Russian side of the front with Ukraine, the Indian government confirmed for the first time “that some Indian nationals had accepted support jobs in the Russian army”.
The ministry did not confirm Indian involvement in Russian combat operations.
Numerous Indians are lured into the Ukraine war as “support workers in the Russian army”.
Indian daily
The Hindu
had earlier reported that around 18 Indians were stranded in various Russian cities along the border with Ukraine.
At least three of them were “forced” to fight alongside Russian soldiers, according to the report.
According to the report, the Indians were recruited by Dubai-based brokers and lured with high salaries and a Russian passport.
Around 100 Indians are said to have taken up this offer last year.
Seven young men from India can be seen in a video circulating on the news platform X.
© Screenshot X @umasudhir
Some of the recruits told the newspaper that they were initially trained by the Russian army in Moscow in the use of weapons and ammunition before being sent to the front in January.
One of the recruits claimed that his "repeated requests" to return home to the Indian embassy in Moscow remained "unanswered".
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Indian “support worker” apparently killed in Ukraine war – Indian government remains silent
According to information from the Indian newspaper, an Indian citizen has already died in a rocket attack within the Ukrainian border.
The deceased is said to be Hemal Ashwinbhai from the state of Gujarat.
Hemal's father told the US broadcaster BBC on February 23 that he had spoken to his son three days ago.
He said he was stationed between 20 and 22 kilometers inside the Ukrainian border and called every few days when he had access to the cell phone network.
He also originally traveled to Russia for “military support work” and was sent to the battlefield under the pretext of “training”.
At the end of February, Hemal fell victim to a rocket attack.
Meanwhile, the latest call for help from the Indian “tourist group” in Russia could not be examined for authenticity.
It remains unclear whether the men actually traveled to the country for tourism reasons or because of the prospect of better job opportunities than in India.
“We cannot be so harsh on youths who are looking for work and livelihood, they deserve our compassion and proactive help,” appealed reporter Uma Sudhir in the comments under the video.
The Indian government has not yet commented on the men's claims.
(nz/dpa)