Indians discharged from Russian Army after ‘strongly taking up cases’, says MEA

‘No Mention of recruitment agencies, hiring process in India’

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on February 26 claimed that several Indians have been discharged from Russian Army after India ‘strongly took up the cases’ with Russian authorities.

The MEA statement came a day after The Hindu reported that several workers hired as security helpers for the Russian Army have approached the Indian Embassy in Moscow seeking government’s help to return home, but their calls remained unanswered.

The MEA said it has “seen some inaccurate reports in the media regarding Indians with the Russian Army seeking help for discharge.”

Before the reports about Indians and Nepali citizens being recruited by the Russian authorities in their effort to meet human resource needs appeared in a section of press, the MEA maintained a studied silence over the entire issue. The delay in response to the reports in the press from the MEA made the entire issue strange.

In fact, some reports from Srinagar quoting the family members of those involved in the recruitment suggested that those hired from Jammu and Kashmir were taken for a ride and fraudulently taken to Russia on the pretext of working as helpers for the Russian Army.

The Hindu had reported that several workers hired as security helpers for the Russian Army have approached the Indian Embassy in Moscow seeking government’s help to return home but have not received a response.

On February 23, the MEA had stated that it approached the Russian authorities for “early discharge” of Indians and urged Indian nationals to stay away from the conflict. But the statement did not elaborate on the fraudulent hiring process involving Indian recruitment agencies operating from India with branches abroad.

“Each and every such case brought to the attention of the Indian Embassy in Moscow has been strongly taken up with the Russian authorities and those brought to the attention of the Ministry have been taken up with the Russian Embassy in New Delhi. Several Indians have already been discharged as a result. We remain committed, as a matter of top priority, to actively pursuing with the Russian authorities all the relevant cases of Indian nationals for an early discharge from the Russian Army,” the MEA said.

On Monday, the brother of Zahoor Ahmad Sheikh (32), a resident of Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir who has been incommunicado since January after he joined the Russian Army, told The Hindu that multiple calls and messages to the Indian Embassy have gone unanswered.

Mudasir Amin said that his brother was working at Chandigarh when he got an offer to work in Russia while watching a YouTube video. “He got engaged a few months ago and reached Russia in December 2023. He regularly spoke with us but on January 1, he told us that he is going for training and his number would be unreachable for the next three months,” Amin said.

He added that the same month, another worker who was with Zahoor and had escaped the war zone, called their father and said they were stuck. “We did not worry till then as Zahoor told us he would be in a no-network zone, but when we started calling him, his Indian and Russian phone numbers were not reachable,” Amin said, The Hindu reported.

An agent helped the family lodge a complaint with the emergency numbers of the Indian Embassy on January 23 and submitted the copies of their documents with the mission. “We filed a complaint with the local police. We have written several mails. Our calls to the Indian mission either remain unanswered or they say they officials are in a meeting. They keep saying that all paperwork has been done and sent further to the Russian authorities,” Amin said.

He added that Zahoor holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture and went to Russia as he was promised the job of a security helper. “He was made to sign a contract that was in Russian language. He did not know he will be sent to the war zone. We request the government to get him back,” Amin said.

Another J&K resident, Azad Yusuf Kumar, who was hit by a bullet during training has also appealed for a return.

Surinder Paul (27), a resident of Jammu told The Hindu that he was stuck in a bunker with another Indian in Ukraine. “We first approached the Indian mission through our agent on January 24. All documents were provided but we are still here. We want to come back. The Russians tell us that we cannot leave as the contract we signed states that we have to be here for a year,” said Paul.

The Hindu reported on February 20 that at least three Indians who were hired as security helpers by Russia were forced to fight alongside the country’s forces on the Russia-Ukraine border. The Hindu subsequently reported that there are around 100 Indians who are said to have been hired by the Russian Army in the past one year.

Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 24, 2022. While a few Indians volunteered to join the International Legion created to fight Russian forces in Ukraine in 2022, the presence of Indians on Russian side in combat role has been reported the first time.

Local news gathering agencies in Srinagar reported said that last week, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi was in touch with Moscow for early discharge of Indians working as support staff to the Russian army and urged its nationals to stay away from the conflict zone in Ukraine.

“We urge all Indian nationals to exercise due caution and stay away from this conflict,” he had said.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi had earlier urged the MEA to rescue the Indians.

AFP report from New Delhi said that “an apple farmer, an airline caterer and an out-of-work graduate are among the Indian nationals hired by Moscow, with the help of recruiters around the world, for the Russian army in Ukraine.”

AFP report said, “two years into the war tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine, and Moscow is on a global quest for more combatants, sometimes with the assistance — complicit or oblivious — of informal intermediaries.”

An Indian translator working in a military recruitment centre in Moscow told AFP journalists in New Delhi that his facility was one of a network across Russia.

“Every major city has a recruitment centre where foreign nationals are processed,” he said.

He had personally overseen the enlistment of between 70 and 100 Indian citizens, he said, adding that the number of Nepali hires was significantly higher.

“Only last week, 10 Indians came to my centre,” said the man, who asked for anonymity for fear of reprisals for speaking to the media.

Some Indian recruits told AFP they were promised non-combatant roles, but they were trained to use Kalashnikov assault rifles and other weapons before being sent to Ukraine.

And a Russian-language defence ministry contract seen by AFP refers to “military service in the armed forces of the Russian Federation”, with a requirement to “participate in hostilities” and “serve the Russian people without limit”.

India is a longstanding ally of Russia which has shied away from explicit condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine.

Analysts say Russian efforts to target recruits from India are just one facet of a global recruitment drive, alongside a vast campaign at home.

AFP spoke to five Indians recruited to join the Russian war effort, all of whom said they had responded to social media videos promoting jobs as “army helpers” for salaries of around $1,200 a month.

None had prior military experience.

AFP report said that some video clips were posted by a Dubai-based recruitment agent, Faisal Khan, who has a presence on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok as Baba Vlogs.

In one video Khan walks down a street in Russia’s St Petersburg, spelling out the offer: pay him $3,600 and get a job as a helper in the Russian army.

“You don’t have to fight,” he says, filming himself on his mobile.

“All you have to do is to clear demolished buildings, look after armouries and after a year of service you’ll be eligible for permanent residence.”

In no time, he said, he received an avalanche of enquiries from India where despite rapid economic growth unemployment is at a record high.

By his own account, he facilitated 16 Indian passport holders to go to Russia in November and December, most from India and some from Dubai.

One of Khan’s recruits, an unemployed graduate from Uttar Pradesh in northern India, told AFP he had fought on the frontline in Donetsk region in Russian-occupied Ukraine.

“I was hurt in the fighting and taken to the hospital from where I somehow escaped,” he said from Moscow where he is hoping for repatriation.

Another said he had been stationed in Kherson region alongside another Indian — an apple farmer from Kashmir — and nine Cubans to await deployment to the frontline.

“I can be called over to fight anytime,” said the 27-year-old from Gulbarg in the southern state of Karnataka, who used to work at an airline catering company.

Sheikh Mohammad Tahir, 24, from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, travelled to Moscow in December.

“As soon as they made us train in arms, I realised something was amiss,” he said. “Since I had not surrendered my passport until then, I bought a flight ticket and got out.”

Neither Russia or Ukraine will say how many foreigners are serving in their militaries or how many they are holding as prisoners of war.

Moscow is believed to have hired thousands of foreign combatants, hundreds of them from India’s poverty-stricken neighbour Nepal.

“There are reports that mercenaries from the Middle East and Asia are involved in the fighting on the Russian side,” said Oleg Ignatov, an analyst at the International Crisis Group.

Ignatov said Russia was also “trying to recruit mercenaries in Africa”.

The foreign ministry in New Delhi has confirmed some Indian citizens have signed up for “support jobs” with the Russian army, without specifying whether they were combat roles.

With unemployment rate highest in the last 45 years, several educated youth from India have been making all out efforts for jobs in different parts of the world. The recent reports in the press suggest that these gullible youth were hooked up by the agencies allegedly involved in human smuggling.

Modi-govt recruited 2.43 lakh in CAPFs in 5 years

The Narendra Modi government has recruited more than 2.43 lakh youth in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in the last five years.
This was informed at a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), presided over by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and held at Daman, an official handout said on Tuesday.

The members of the committee were also informed that during the last 10 years, 54 battalions have been raised in CAPFs, according to an official statement.

The home minister said in a landmark decision under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the MHA has decided that from 2024 the constable (general duty) examination for the CAPFs will be conducted in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English.

During the meeting, it was apprised that in the last five years, recruitment of more than 2.43 lakh personnel have been carried out, the statement said.

Under the ‘Rozgar Mela’ during the last one year, approximately 98,676 candidates have been appointed and around 54,000 personnel promoted in the CAPFs.

Bonus marks are provided to the NCC certificate holders in the recruitment of CAPFs and during the last three years, 3,560 NCC certificate holders have availed the benefits of this scheme.

During the meeting, various steps taken for the welfare of CAPFs personnel were also discussed including Bharat Ke Veer, Ayushman CAPFs, Prime Minister Scholarship Scheme and enhancement of ex-gratia to the next of the kin of those who made supreme sacrifice for the nation.
Provision in the recruitment rules and exemption in the eligibility criteria for induction of Agniveer in CAPFs was also discussed.

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