New details of an alleged sophisticated duping racket have emerged after three Indians issued a video plea claiming they were forced to fight along with Russian forces at gunpoint in the Ukraine war.
The men said they ended up on the battlefield after being scammed and shipped off to work as “army helpers”.
Although many Indians have willingly joined Ukrainian forces as part of an International Legion to fight Russian forces since the war broke out in 2022, this is the first case of Indians fighting alongside Russia in the conflict, The Hindu reported.
Since November 2023, approximately 18 Indian citizens have found themselves stranded in Mariupol, Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Rostov-on-Don along the Russia-Ukraine border due to the ongoing conflict. One person reportedly lost their life during the war.
The incident came to light on Wednesday after family members of one of the victims, hailing from Hyderabad, informed local MP Asaduddin Owaisi. Earlier, Owaisi had written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Indian Embassy in Moscow to facilitate the men’s return.
More Indians forcefully recruited
The victims reportedly belong to Gujarat, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh. According to the Times of India, besides the three or four men, 60 Indians are reported to be inducted against their will into the Wagner Group, an alleged Moscow-funded private army fighting with Russian forces in the Ukraine conflict.
One such victim from Uttar Pradesh told The Hindu that three of them were provided with basic arms and ammunition training by the Russian army and sent to Rostov-on-Don along the Ukraine border in January where they were forced to engage in combat at gunpoint.
How the scam unfolded
In his 20s, the man said they arrived in the warzone in November last year and signed contracts as army helpers with a salary of Rs 1.9 lakh with a bonus of Rs 50,000 per month. Their contracts mentioned that they would not be involved in any active combat role.
The UP resident recounted how he arrived in Russia after getting in touch with an agent named Faisal Khan, who also runs a YouTube channel “Baba Vlogs”.
Upon his arrival in Russia on November 12, he was received by two Indian agents associated with Khan. The next day, they were transported to a remote area approximately two-and-a-half hours away from Moscow and placed in a camp. Initially told they would serve as helpers, they were instead trained to handle weapons and deployed to Donetsk to engage in combat on January 4.
The man described how, after being coerced into fighting, he seized an opportunity to escape and left his weapons. However, he was apprehended and threatened at gunpoint. Forced to transport goods between buildings, they were instructed to maintain a distance of five meters to avoid becoming easy targets.
During one such journey, they were caught in crossfire seven to eight times, resulting in the death of a local companion. On January 22, he managed to flee and was admitted to a hospital due to frostbite injuries.
Pleas unanswered
He further mentioned that he was deprived of access to his phone for several days and only managed to contact his family after escaping the war-torn area. Despite repeated appeals to the Indian Embassy in Moscow, his pleas have been ignored, and he has been turned away multiple times. He emphasized his lack of proper documentation and financial resources, expressing disappointment with the government’s lack of assistance, the report said.
One of the agents who received the victims in Russia said the men, belonging to different parts of India, face a threat to lives if the Indian government does not intervene. The agent claimed the men were hired as “army helpers” as part of the deal which stated they would be trained for three months and roles would be assigned to them after that but after a month, their passports were confiscated and they were forced to fight for Russia.