Published: September 23, 2025 3:27 PM IST 
The war between Russia and Ukraine has been ongoing since February 2022. In recent months, many young men from India have been tricked into joining the Russian army. Families of some of these youths, now trapped in the conflict, have reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Haryana government for help in bringing them back. Reports suggest that a large network is behind this, recruiting young men from India and nearby countries with false promises of education, jobs, and money, only to push them into the war.
Similarly, a 30-year-old man from Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, who went to Russia for higher studies, has allegedly been forced to join the Russian army and sent to fight in Ukraine, his family claims. They say they have not been able to contact him since early September and are now pleading for help. The missing man, Rakesh Kumar from Kushmoth village in Sitarganj, had left for Russia on August 7 after getting admission to St. Petersburg University on a student visa. But soon after reaching, he began telling his family that things were not going as planned and hinted that he was in trouble.
As per a report in TOI, Rakesh’s elder brother, Deepu Maurya, said their last conversation was on August 30. During that call, Rakesh revealed he had been forced to join the Russian army and would be sent to the war front in Ukraine. Since then, his phone has remained switched off. A few days later, the family received a photograph of Rakesh wearing a Russian military uniform, which left them shocked and deeply worried.
The family has written to the Ministry of External Affairs, requested help from the Indian embassy in Moscow, and also contacted local officials, hoping to bring Rakesh back home safely.
A few days later, Rakesh managed to call his family again, this time using an unknown Russian number. Sounding scared and distressed, he told them that his passport and personal documents had been taken away, his official emails deleted, and that he had been sent for military training in the Donbas region before being deployed to the battlefield. That was the last time they heard from him.
“We do not even know if he is alive. We just want the government to bring him back home safely,” said his brother Deepu, his voice filled with worry.
The family wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs on September 5 and has also sought help from local leaders and officials.
This is not an isolated case. In recent months, at least 20 Indian nationals, many from Punjab and Haryana, have said they were lured to Russia with promises of jobs or education, but were later forced into joining the Russian military.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has urged Indian citizens not to be misled by offers to join the Russian army, warning that such moves are extremely dangerous and could put lives at serious risk.
He said that India has already taken up the matter with Russian authorities in both New Delhi and Moscow, demanding that this practice be stopped immediately and that all Indian nationals caught in such situations be sent back safely. The MEA is also in direct contact with the families of those affected, offering them support and updates.
Several other young Indians from Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh are also reportedly trapped in similar situations. They include Samarjit Singh from Ludhiana, Buta Singh from Moga, Gursevak Singh from Jalandhar, Taslim from Haldwani, and Sawed from Bareilly. Like Rakesh, they fear being sent to the frontlines of the conflict.
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