Six Indians released from Russian army

Six Indians dismissed from Russian army | Photo credit: special arrangement

At least six Indians who enlisted in the Russian army have been released from their camps on the Russia-Ukraine border, months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi “personally” raised the issue with President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow in July .

Mohammad Sufiyan (24), a resident of Narayanpet in Telangana, who was released from a Russian camp, said The Hindu on the phone from Moscow that he and five others were waiting to return to India after completing paperwork at the Indian embassy.

However, Rajya Sabha member Vikramjit Sahney said 15 Indian youth, including four from Punjab, were repatriated from Russia after being released from the army.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar informed the Lok Sabha on August 9 that 91 Indians had been recruited into the Russian army in the last nine months, eight of them were killed and 69 Indians were awaiting release.

‘In red zone’

“We were in the red zone, two kilometers away from the battlefield on the border with Ukraine. Our job was to transport the dead bodies. There was constant bombing and shooting. The bunkers they provided for us to hide were so small that it was difficult to breathe,” said Mr Sufiyan, who was reportedly tricked into joining the Russian army after being offered the job of security assistant offered.

Sameer Ahmad (25), a resident of Kalaburgi in Karnataka who was also released, said it would take a few days for them to reach India. “It took us 36 hours to reach our base camp from the border. Our contracts have been canceled and now we have reached Moscow on our own,” said Mr Ahmad. He said their issue was first raised by AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, who discussed the issue with Mr Jaishankar in January.

The other four who were discharged are Abdul Nayeem (28), Syed Ilyas Hussain (24) from Kalaburgi in Karnataka, Azad Yousuf Kumar (32) from Jammu and Kashmir and Kamal Singh (40) from Punjab.

The Hindu first reported on February 20 that Indians who had traveled to Russia on tourist visas were offered jobs as security helpers but were forced to fight alongside the Russian army on the border with Ukraine.