Tricked into war: how Indian citizens were recruited into the Russian army

On January 17, an official representative of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs made a statement about numerous cases in which Indians were deceived into serving in the Russian army and sent to the combat zone in Ukraine, under the pretext of highly paid work abroad. According to data published by Indian officials, a total of 126 such cases have been discovered. At least 12 Indian citizens who fought on the side of Russia against Ukraine were killed. 96 managed to return home.

"18 Indian citizens are still in the war zone. Of these 18, the whereabouts of 16 people are unknown. The Russian authorities have classified them as "missing," said a representative of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

DW spoke to several Indian nationals who managed to return home.

I'm grateful to be alive

23-year-old Syed Ilyas Hussaini from the southwestern Indian state of Karnataka, along with his friends Abdul Naeem and Mohammed Samir Ahmed, believed in the promise of good security jobs in Russia. They were promised a monthly salary of 70,000 to 100,000 rupees (about 1,000 euros). The young man turned down a job he had at the time at Dubai airport and flew to Russia. But instead of the expected security work, the men were forced to join a private military company and, along with people from Nepal and Cuba, were transferred to the Russian-Ukrainian border.

"My friends and I were forced to sign contracts written in Russian, which I didn't understand, and we were soon sent to the Russian army," Hussaini told DW.

"They took away our passports and mobile phones, and as soon as we were forced to wear military uniforms, we realized that we had been deceived, we feared the worst. There was abuse, our commander mistreated us," Hussaini added. According to him, they feared that they would never be able to return home alive.

 

"When my friend Hamil Mangukiya from Surat was killed in a drone strike while digging a trench, I thought I was going to die too," Hussaini admitted.

Russian roulette for Hindus

Many young people say they were lured to Russia by false promises and ended up in a war zone simply because they desperately needed work. Seeking their fortune abroad, even with the risks, seemed a better option than staying in India with almost no job prospects.

Mohammad Sufiyan from Hyderabad in the southern Indian state of Telangana suffered the same fate. He said that upon arriving at Moscow's Domodedovo airport in December 2023, his documents were taken away and he was forced to join a private military company, allegedly PMK Wagner.

"It was a terrible experience at the front, and for many days after my return I had nightmares: drones were flying, bullets were whistling and people were screaming," Sufiyan told DW.

According to him, he was in a camp with Russian soldiers about 50 kilometers from the territory of Ukraine.

"When we protested, the officer commanding our unit fired near where we were standing to scare us. It is a miracle that I escaped death," Sufiyan added.

Convicted Azad in Luhansk

In December 2023, 32-year-old Azad Yusuf Kumar from Pulwama district in south Kashmir was looking for a job opportunity abroad. Despite having a higher economic education, the man could never find a job in India. As a result, Azad came across the YouTube channel Baba Vlogs, which advertised a lucrative insurance job in Russia. Believing in a good prospect, the man paid about 130,000 rupees (approximately 1,430 euros) for the transfer and processing of documents.

At the time, Azad had no idea that he would end up stranded on the Russian-Ukrainian border along with a dozen other Indians and involved in Russia's war against Ukraine for several months.

"I survived near-death situations, including injuries during combat training, all the while working as a contractor for the Russian military to participate in the war in Ukraine," Azad told DW in an interview after returning home to Kashmir.

Finding himself in the Ukrainian city of Luhansk, which is currently under Russian occupation, Azad faced a harsh reality and difficult trials. He and others described digging trenches near the front line under artillery fire, with shells often falling close to their positions.

"Just a few weeks after starting training, I suffered a gunshot wound to the leg due to my inability to hold a weapon, which resulted in more than two weeks of hospitalization," Azad said. "I became a victim of a massive employment scam, like many other young people from India, and when I returned home after nine months, it was a miracle," Azad admitted.

 

Miraculously Escaped

In March 2023, Syed Ilyas Hussaini managed to gain access to a mobile phone and, together with other Indian citizens, recorded a video message describing the difficult situation they found themselves in.

"The video went viral, and then the government and politicians realized our plight. But it was months before we were sent back to Moscow. We returned home in September," he said.

At the same time, in March, it was learned that India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had uncovered a network of recruiters who had been "luring" citizens of that country to Russia with various promises, only for these people to later end up in a war zone in Ukraine. Several fraudsters were arrested in India. In July, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Russia, it was agreed that the contracts of all Indian citizens who had been fraudulently recruited into the Russian army would be terminated. The decision, which Russia has not officially announced, was made after Modi's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.