Seven youths from Hoshiarpur, Punjab, trapped in the war between Russia and Ukraine, have appealed to the Indian government for help.
He has claimed that he was fraudulently recruited into the Russian army and thrown into the war against Ukraine, while he was visiting Russia on a tourist visa to celebrate the New Year.
Videos circulated on social media show seven men dressed in Russian soldiers’ uniforms with hoods and caps, looking frightened. One of them is explaining his situation and asking for help from the government.
In the 105-second video on social media platform X, seven people from Punjab are seen wearing Russian army jackets with hoods or caps.
They are standing inside a dirty room with a closed window at one end. Six of them are hiding in a corner, while the seventh – whose name is said to be Gagandeep Singh – is recording a video message explaining his situation and asking for help.
According to Singh, they left for Russia on December 27 to celebrate New Year. These people had visas to travel to Russia – which were valid for 90 days – but then traveled to neighboring Belarus.
“An agent here offered to take us to Belarus… We didn’t know we needed a visa. When we went to Belarus (without visa) the agent asked us for more money and then released us.
“The police caught us and handed us over to Russian officials, who made us sign documents.” The young man claims that “now they (Russia) are forcing us to fight a war against Ukraine.”
The family asked for help
Gagandeep Singh’s family has reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs. They were “forced” because they could not understand their papers and signed them without reading them, his brother Amrit Singh said.
“He was forced to join the army there because the documents he signed in Belarus were in Russian. It was said that either they should accept 10 years of imprisonment or join the Russian army.”
Gave him 15 days of training and then sent him to fight in Ukraine.
The men were reportedly given 15 days of military training and sent to active combat zones.
It is noteworthy that Belarus, which is dependent on Russia for political and economic support, is seen as one of Moscow’s closest allies. The Kremlin has repeatedly used Belarus as a staging ground for attacks on Ukraine.
What does the Ministry of External Affairs say
Last week, the External Affairs Ministry said it was in touch with other similarly stranded people, including Jammu and Kashmir Azad Yusuf Kumar, a 31-year-old man, is also included. A few days after his “recruitment into the Russian Army”, Kumar was allegedly shot in the leg in a combat situation.
There are also reports that at least 10 Indians from Karnataka, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh have found themselves in a similar precarious situation. They were sent to Russia on the pretext of jobs as security guards or labourers. The agent who tricked them also collected Rs 3 lakh from each.