Russian leader Vladimir Putin personally promised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release from the Russian army all Indians who signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense.
This is reported by the Indian television company NDTV with reference to sources.
The topic of Indians in the Russian army and their participation in the war against Ukraine was raised by Modi at a private dinner in Moscow, where he arrived on a two-day visit on July 8. Interlocutors of the television company say that Moscow agreed not only to release the Indians from the army, but also to facilitate their return to their homeland.
According to NDTV, about two dozen Indian citizens participated or are participating in the war against Ukraine. At least two have already died. The television company notes that the Indians were forced to fight by deception — they were promised high-paying jobs, but ended up signing bonded contracts.
- Currently, there are established facts of recruitment of citizens of Nepal, India, Syria, Serbia and Somalia into the Russian army. The Russian Federation also recruited illegal migrants to its army from the Finnish border who tried to get to the EU through Russia. As for the citizens of Nepal and India, some of them are already in captivity or have died. There are already videos in social networks with Africans as part of the Russian army, who are in Ukraine.
- In addition, as Bloomberg writes, Russia forced thousands of migrants and foreign students to fight against Ukraine, threatening not to extend their visas. Some of them are used as an additional force for the offensive in the Kharkiv region.
- In June 2024, India reported that it was aware of the death of at least two of its citizens who were recruited by Russia. At the end of the month , Sri Lanka presented Russia with demands for compensation for its killed and wounded citizens who served in the Russian army.