New Delhi: India has identified at least 44 nationals, including those who went recently, who continue to remain part of the Russian military in its war against Ukraine, despite Moscow’s promise not to recruit more Indians and return those they already have, ThePrint has learnt.
Ahead of the upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India, families of several such nationals staged a protest in the national capital alleging their kin were tricked into joining the Russian military by agents who took them there for regular jobs.
Government sources confirmed that at least 44 individuals have been verified by New Delhi as still present in the Russian armed forces. Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov told ThePrint last week that since March 2025, there has been no recruitment of Indians into the Russian army.
However, 27 families staged a protest at Jantar Mantar Monday claiming that their kin had recently been duped into signing contracts with the Russian armed forces on the basis of “false promises” and urged the government of India to ensure their repatriation.
One family, that of 29-year-old Aman from Haryana’s Hisar district, was particularly jolted, since an individual from the same village, Sonu, lost his life on the frontlines during the war.
“Bring back my brother alive from Russia, not in a body bag,” Aman’s brother Ashish said at the protest site.
Sonu was allegedly lured to join the Russian army in August 2025, months after the recruitment is said to have been stopped by Moscow, as reported by ThePrint.
He had travelled to Russia to study a language course before being promised a lucrative job. However, he ended up on the frontlines and was eventually killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on 6 September.
The families formally informed the Ministry of External Affairs on 23 October in a letter addressed to minister S. Jaishankar that included the details of at least 16 youth from Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan and Punjab who had travelled to Russia on student visas and were compelled into joining the army.
It is unclear if the list of 44 individuals verified by the ministry as still part of the Russian army includes names shared by the families last month.
“After reaching Russia, they (the youth) were deceitfully taken by certain agents and compelled into war training and deployment under coercion. Their families have lost all direct contact with them, and there is growing fear regarding their safety and well-being,” reads the letter, accessed by ThePrint.
“We shall remain deeply obliged if the government of India intervenes urgently through diplomatic channels and ensures all 16 youth are brought back to India without further delay,” it adds.
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Indians in Russian Army
More than 100 Indians have joined the Russian army since the end of 2023. Foreign nationals joining the army is legal in Russia. Specific rules in place there allow foreigners to join the different army formations.
India has been raising the issue at the highest levels with the Russian government. In July 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue with Putin during the former’s visit to Moscow for the annual India-Russia summit.
Putin is expected to travel to India next month for the summit this year.
Ambassador Alipov told ThePrint last week that Russia does not recruit Indians in particular, and “if a foreigner comes to a recruiting centre and signs the contract voluntarily… nobody makes him sign that contract”.
Furthermore, there are a number of Indian citizens who have since acquired Russian citizenship. For those Russian citizens of Indian origin, New Delhi and Moscow are looking at ways to find a solution, Alipov said.
However, the families at the protest site Monday claimed that the men had been forced to sign contracts that they didn’t fully understand. Other issues facing the individuals on the frontlines include the lack of proper food and being forced to fight despite suffering injuries.
“My brother has been shot in the leg. He only got first aid and then was asked to get right back into the war,” Sandeep, cousin of Anoop Kumar from Haryana, who he says was enlisted into the Russian army three months ago, told ThePrint.
Another Indian who was recruited into the Russian army recently, surrendered to the Ukrainian armed forces early last month.
New Delhi has requested consular access for Majoti Sahil Mohamed Hussein, the soldier who claimed he was an Indian citizen while surrendering to Ukrainian forces. The situation in his case is further complicated because he says he signed up to join Russian forces to reduce his prison sentence there. Hussein made the claim in a video released by the Ukrainian armed forces on social media last month.
Since he is considered a prisoner of war affiliated with the Russian forces, his return to India requires Moscow to request an exchange of PoW with Kyiv.
The Indian embassy in Moscow has verified Hussein’s nationality and the mission in Kyiv has requested consular access. Hussein’s return likely depends on a request from Moscow for his exchange when the two countries do decide to exchange prisoners of war.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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