The Indian Foreign Ministry announced the dismissal of 45 Indians from the Russian Armed Forces
The Indian authorities announced the demobilization of 45 Indians from the Russian army. According to the Indian Central Bank, agents across the country tricked young people into Russia, where they allegedly took their passports and sent them to Ukraine. Indian Prime Minister Modi asked Vladimir Putin personally for help, after which the Russian side promised to terminate the contract with all such Indians ahead of schedule.
Russia has terminated the contract with 45 Indians who were recruited into the Russian army, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India Randhir Jaiswal said at a briefing. The Indian side complained that the country's citizens were being lured into the army by deception.
He clarified that Indians began to be more actively released from the Russian army after a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in early July. Ten Indians were able to demobilize before the leaders' talks, and 35 more after that. At the same time, only six returned to their homeland, they arrived a few days ago.
"These are 45 people from different states, some from the north, some from the south, and a few more will return [to India] soon," Jaiswal said.
How Indians are recruited into the Russian army
The recruitment scheme was revealed in May by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of India (CBI). It uncovered a "large human trafficking network" for which Indian travel agents worked. They promised local men to help them move to the Russian Federation, tempted them with a good job or admission to Russian universities and bought them air tickets.
"Agents tricked students into enrolling in dubious private universities in Russia instead of state ones, offering tuition exemption and visa extension," Indian journalists wrote, citing the bureau.
As a result, in Russia, the Indians were stripped of their passports and forced to participate in hostilities in Ukraine. At least two Indians were initially offered to get a job as "assistants" in the Russian army.
"Indian citizens who were victims of human trafficking received combat training and were sent to advanced bases in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict zone against their will," the CBI concluded.
In total, 17 "visa consulting companies" participated in the scheme, scattered throughout India. They used popular Internet platforms in India to recruit. As part of the case, the bureau detained four organizers, including an interpreter who allegedly worked "under contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation." Cash in the amount of $605 thousand was also seized during the searches.
"They joined the service voluntarily"
The Russian Embassy in New Delhi said in August that the Russian authorities were not involved in fraudulent schemes to recruit Indians.
They also stressed that since April 2024, citizens of some countries, including India, have stopped being accepted into the Russian army. The Embassy added that the parties are working to resolve the problem. At the same time, the diplomatic mission stated that the Indians fighting on the side of the Russian Federation entered the service voluntarily, and promised to pay them all the promised compensation, without mentioning their release from the army.
"The relevant departments of both countries are closely coordinating work on the early identification and dismissal of Indian citizens who voluntarily joined the military service in Russia. All contractual obligations and compensation payments due will be fulfilled in full," the embassy said.
After Putin's July meeting with the Indian Prime Minister, the Indian Foreign Ministry reported that Russia had promised to prematurely dismiss from its army all Indian citizens "who were misled when entering the service." Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian President, declined to comment on this topic.
Anna Gromova
