• ‘I am grateful to be alive and thank God I was able to come back home,’ Azad Yousuf Kumar, an Indian back from Russia, tells Anadolu
  
• Families of some Indian men killed in Ukraine say they are still waiting for their bodies

NEW DELHI

Azad Yousuf Kumar is a relieved man, who feels he has been handed a second life.

A few months ago, he was on the frontlines in Ukraine, surrounded by war, guns and bombs, thousands of miles away from his home in Pulwama, a district in Indian-administered Kashmir.

“I am grateful to be alive and thank God I was able to come back home,” Kumar told Anadolu.

He was one of dozens of Indian men duped into moving to Russia with promises of jobs as “security helpers,” only to end up becoming contracted to the Russian army to fight in the Ukraine war.

Kumar and several others returned home in October thanks to media pressure that led to months of diplomatic outreach by the Indian government.

On Oct. 21, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced that 85 Indians inducted into the Russian army had been discharged so far, with efforts on to secure the release of 20 more.

He said New Delhi has been in close contact with Russia’s foreign and defense ministries, adding that the matter was being addressed at the highest levels, including with President Vladimir Putin.

The announcement regarding the return of Indian personnel came just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Russian city of Kazan for the 16th BRICS Summit in late October.

During Modi’s prior visit in July, Moscow reportedly extended assurances that all Indians contracted to the Russian military would be released soon.

In August, the Russian Embassy in New Delhi put out a statement acknowledging the issue, saying the agencies concerned were working in “close coordination for early identification and discharge of Indian nationals who voluntarily contracted for military service in Russia.”

The embassy also confirmed that, since April, the Russian Defense Ministry had “stopped admission of citizens of a number of foreign countries, including India, to military service in the Russian Armed Forces.”

Pushed by unemployment

Media reports suggest men from various countries have been fighting in Ukraine, as Russian authorities launched a recruitment drive for foreign citizens to replenish the military’s numbers.

That resulted in scams and trafficking in countries such as India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Cuba, where recruiters enticed people with promises of support roles such as cooks or cleaners.

The recruits often ended up paying exorbitant travel and immigration fees, only to be sent to the frontlines of the Ukraine war.

A major driving factor was the lack of job opportunities in their own countries. For instance, the India Employment Report 2024, released by the International Labor Organization and the Institute of Human Development, showed that nearly 83% of India’s unemployed population in 2022 were youths, with 65.7% holding higher education degrees.

Kumar’s story was the same: a 30-year-old unemployed man working on his family’s small farm who came across a seemingly innocuous YouTube ad in December 2023.

“I graduated in 2012 but I was jobless,” said Kumar, a father of two.

He had been applying for government jobs but opportunities were limited. Kumar would also help his father, a laborer, dig tube wells in different villages, although the work did not pay well.

The advertisement he came across promised a job as a security helper in Russia, with an alluring starting salary of 50,000 Indian rupees (around $600) that would be bumped up to 100,000 Indian rupees (around $1,200) after a three-month probation period.

Kumar took the bait and contacted the agents, eventually paying them 300,000 Indian rupees (over $3,500) for the move, including visa charges and a ticket to Moscow.

But when Kumar landed in the Russian capital, he became part of a group of six Indian men who were made to sign agreements that essentially bound them to the army.

“It felt like a dream at first but then we realized we had been scammed,” he recalled.

Kumar and his companions underwent safety training before being transported to battle zones in Ukraine.

“We would help out the soldiers with odd jobs like chopping wood,” he said.

Victims of war

Though they never had any weapons, just being on the frontlines meant that Kumar and his compatriots were still targets, and at least eight Indians had been killed in the conflict by July.

Among them was Mohammad Afsan from Hyderabad, whose journey to Ukraine began just like Kumar’s quest for a better future.

Duped by an agent promising work as a helper with the Russian army, Afsan paid a hefty sum of 350,000 Indian rupees (nearly $4,200) for the trip.

“We lost contact in January,” Mohammad Imran, his brother, told Anadolu.

For days, the family had no idea about what had happened, before news eventually came through another injured Indian man, who confirmed that Afsan was fatally wounded on the battlefield.

Afsan’s body remained in the custody of Russian authorities for two long months, before diplomatic efforts bore results and his remains were flown home.

“Three more Indians are still missing,” said Imran, who is helping in efforts to find their bodies and secure compensation for their families.

Among them is Tejpal Singh, whose 30-year-old wife Parminder Kaur is currently in Moscow trying to find her husband.

The Indian Embassy has told her that Singh, who arrived in Russia in January, was killed in Ukraine, but Kaur has yet to get any confirmation from Russian authorities.

“He thought it was just a job and an opportunity to improve our lives,” she told Anadolu over the phone.

Things took a worrying turn in early March when Singh told Kaur that he could be forced to fight, and their communication ceased within a few days.

“They didn’t tell me directly and I learned of his death from other Indian men. He died in March but I didn’t find out until June,” said Kaur.

By September, she found herself in Russia, desperate for answers.

“I’ve been here for more than a month and no one has told me anything about my husband’s body. They took my DNA samples, but the process is slow,” she said.

“I was told that the Russian authorities are processing the documents, but I just want closure.”

The Russian government has promised compensation for all recruits killed in battle, an amount equivalent to about 10 million Indian rupees (over $118,000).

“They have been helpful,” said Imran, whose brother has left behind a wife and two children.

He is determined to secure their future, exploring options for Russian citizenship and pension benefits: “We have made two trips to Russia since Afsan’s death, and we have been assured of a pension and permanent residency.”

For others like Kumar, who managed to return home, life remains challenging.

“We have a patch of land and I’ll work on it. I am educated, but there are just no jobs here,” he said.