2/ An Indian man tells how his friend, a student, signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence because he wanted to make money. He had previously been doing "a month of work digging dugouts", likely in the Russian rear or in a border region.

3/ "When he came [back] to Moscow ... he sees that if he signs a contract, he gets 2,000,000 rubles [$24,584 – note that the average annual salary in India is $4,038]." His friend was sent to Pokrovsk only 10 days later, without any training. As the man says:

4/ "Many died. My brother is gone, which is unfortunate. There are dugouts, assaults, and infantry; everything is challenging there. No, I don't know where he is, how can I put it? It's God's will. It's [all] body, body, no body [there]."

5/ His friend is now listed as missing in action. At least 150 Indians have fought for Russia in the Ukraine war, often after being duped by Russian recruiters promising blue-collar jobs. At least 12 are known to have died, with at least 16 more listed as missing.

6/ In September 2024, Russia released 91 Indians who said they had been duped into joining the Russian Army, following an intervention by Prime Minister Modi. At least 19 recruiters are reported to have been arrested by the Indian authorities for human trafficking.

7/ Despite this, the problem has persisted. On 3 November 2025, dozens of families from across India gathered in Delhi's Mantar Square to demand government intervention and bring back their relatives who have died or are missing in action. https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/...

8/ The men travelled to Russia on study visas with the promise of well-paying jobs and permanent residency after their studies. However, relatives say that they were pressured into signing military contracts – often without realising what they were signing.

9/ Aman Punia from Hisar was promised a securit guard job and residency upon the expiry of his study visa and signed a contract without realising what it was. It was written in Russian and he was stopped from using his phone to translate it.

10/ His brother Ashu says that Aman last contacted his family on 15 October, saying: "They are sending me to the front. I might die soon." He was sent to fight in Ukraine after only 15 days of training.

11/ Ashu says: "He was later injured and abandoned by his commander. He somehow crawled back to his bunker after three days but was denied medical help. We saw photos of him wounded." Aman recorded a video pleading for help from Modi and the Indian government.

12/ After sending the video, Aman's phone and money were confiscated. His family do not know where he is or whether he is still alive, and the Russian foreign ministry has been of little assistance to them.

13/ The relatives of Mohammed Ahmed from Khairatabad tell a very similar story. He travelled to Russia in April 2025 to take up a warehouse job, but was forced into the Russian army instead.

14/ His niece says that "he was forced to sign a contract written in Russian. When he tried to translate it on his phone, they snatched it and made him sign. He is being beaten and tortured to fight a war he never agreed to."

15/ "He and about 30 others were taken to a remote area and trained in weapons. Six of them are Indians. After training, 26 were sent to the front line. While being taken to the border, he jumped from the vehicle and fractured his leg."

16/ Despite the injury, Mohammed was still forced to fight. "He told me that 17 people from his group have died fighting the Ukrainian army. He is now being threatened to fight or be killed."

17/ In September 2025, several groups of Indians trapped on the front lines recorded a video appealing for help. Samarjeet Singh from Ludhiana said that nine Indians, including himself, were being “grossly mistreated”, and denied food, water and other supplies.

18/ In another video, Buta Singh says that "we were promised work in Moscow, but instead were pushed into war". Several of their group had already died, while the rest were in daily fear for their lives.

19/ He says that the men in his group "were taken to a camp, our passports were seized, and we were trained for 15 days before being sent to fight under threat of death." He had himself been seriously injured in a drone strike and was now being treated in hospital in Moscow.

20/ "The chances of returning alive from a war zone here are minus one per cent. Only if you are extremely lucky, else it’s difficult," he says. He walked for 20 km to get medical attention: "No one helps otherwise."

21/ Ankit Jangra from Fatehabad, Haryana, says he and 12 others are trapped. He had travelled to Russia on a student visa and was working part-time at KFC before being forced to join the army.

22/ He says that retreating is punishable by death (which Russian soldiers have also reported): "When we ask to return, the Russian soldiers point guns at us and say, ‘Kill or die—there’s no going back."

23/ Gursewak Singh from Punjab’s Gurdaspur district says that he was lured to work as a construction worker. He says in a video: "Earlier, I worked in Dubai for two years, then moved to Russia on a study visa in September 2024."

24/ "I joined a one-year Russian language course at the Moscow State Linguistic University (MSLU). As we could work while studying, I took construction jobs to earn good money."

25/ While working on a site in Moscow, he and others were offered jobs paying 2 million Indian rupees a month ($22,571) for construction work. Although they didn't realise it, this was in fact the sign-up bonus for joining the Russian army.

26/ The recruitment agent arranged for their travel from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport to a place called Chilimnyi. "She told us it was a Russian government site. We fell for the promise of high salaries."

27/ "We all come from humble backgrounds and felt that moving out of Moscow for better money was a good idea."

28/ In fact, Chilimnyi turned out to be a Russian army camp. Gursewak says: "Officials threatened us with pistols and forced us to sign contracts in Russian. If we refused, they said we would be killed."

29/ The men were given 15 days of basic training before being sent to the front lines on 10 September. Within a few days, five of their group of 15 were already dead. Another man sent to Chilimnyi says he was promised he would only be building bunkers.

30/ "Camp officials first assured us we wouldn’t be taken to the battlefield. Within days, they pressured us to join. When we refused, they showed us the contracts we had signed in Russian. They threatened to kill us if we ran away or refused.

31/ "Our friends in Moscow rushed to the Indian embassy, but no one is responding."