'Stay Away': MEA Confirms 27 Indians Serving In Russian Army, Warns Against Such Offers

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday confirmed that 27 Indian nationals are currently serving in the Russian Army and issued a warning against any such offers given to Indians. "We once again strongly urge all Indian nationals to stay away from the offers being made to serve in the Russian army as they are fraught with danger and risk to life", the ministry stated.

It also affirmed that it is in close touch with the families of those 27 Indians who are currently in the Russian army, "As per our information, 27 Indian nationals are presently serving in the Russian army. We also in close touch with their family members in the matter."

Earlier in September, the MEA informed that it had raised this matter with Russian authorities present in both Moscow and New Delhi, directing them to put an end to this practice and release all Indian nationals serving in the Russian army.

Instances of Indians being allegedly duped into joining the Russian Army to fight the war against Ukraine have been surfacing for the past few months. In early August, Rakesh Kumar from Udham Singh Nagar, who travelled to Russia after securing admission to St. Petersburg University on a study visa found himself fraudulently and forcefully inducted into the Russian army, cited a TOI report.

Kumar's story is not an isolated incident, as there have been many instances of Russia allegedly tricking many Indians under the pretext of education and jobs and coercively recruiting them into its army.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump via a post on Truth Social shifted his stance on the Russia-Ukraine war and said that Kyiv can "win all of Ukraine back in its original form". The US president's statement came after his conversation with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky.

He added that Ukraine may be able to re-capture the original borders from where the war began. Trump, who had vouched for an end to the war, had indicated that this might happen at the cost of more Ukrainian territory being lost.

The ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict has been going on since the former invaded the latter in Feb. 2022, building on earlier tensions that began in 2014 with the Russian annexation of Ukraine's Crimea.