Indians who joined the Russian Army against Ukraine were already discharged after such cases were taken up with Russian authorities, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed on Monday.
The Ministry also said it has “seen some inaccurate reports in the media regarding Indians with the Russian Army seeking help for discharge.”
On February 20, The Hindu reported that at least three Indians were forced to fight alongside the Russians on the Russia-Ukraine border after they were allegedly conned by an agent and sent to work as “army security helpers”. A few days later, MEA said that it has approached the Russian authorities for “early discharge” of Indians working as support staff with the Russian Army, while also advising Indian nationals to stay away from the conflict.
“Each and every such case brought to the attention of the Indian Embassy in Moscow has been strongly taken up with the Russian authorities and those brought to the attention of the Ministry have been taken up with the Russian Embassy in New Delhi. Several Indians have already been discharged as a result. We remain committed, as a matter of top priority, to actively pursuing with the Russian authorities all the relevant cases of Indian nationals for an early discharge from the Russian Army,” the Ministry said.
While a few Indians volunteered to join the International Legion created to fight Russian forces in Ukraine in 2022 when the war first broke out, this is the first time that the presence of Indians on Russian side in combat role has been reported. The Hindu also reported that there are around 100 Indians who are said to have been hired by the Russian Army over the past year. Since November last year, around 18 Indians were stranded at Mariupol, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Rostov-on-Don along the Russia-Ukraine border, and one person was reportedly killed in the ongoing war, an agent said.
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Published - February 27, 2024 01:09 pm IST
