A group of seven young men from Punjab and Haryana in India urgently seek assistance, claiming they were deceived into military service in Russia and forced to participate in the Ukraine conflict. The Indians, identified as Gagandeep Singh, Lovepreet Singh, Narain Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Harsh Kumar, and Abhishek Kumar, left for Russia on December 27, initially to celebrate the New Year. They possessed a valid visa for Russia but subsequently traveled to Belarus. An agent allegedly lured them to Belarus, where they were caught without a visa, abandoned, and later handed over to Russian authorities. The men allege being coerced into signing documents they couldn’t understand due to the language barrier, resulting in their forced participation in the Ukraine war. Family members claim the individuals were given weapons training and deployed to the Donetsk region. Last week, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs acknowledged that around 20 Indian nationals serving with the Russian military approached authorities for assistance in their discharge. Reports suggest up to 100 Indian nationals were recruited as support staff by the Russian Army, with dozens forced into active combat on the Ukraine border. Concerns rise over the safety and fate of Indian citizens entangled in the conflict, adding complexity to India’s diplomatic challenges amid the Ukraine crisis.
