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Jaishankar said a total of 91 Indians were recruited into the Russian Army, and 14 of them were discharged or had come back to India. About 50 Indian nationals serving with the Russian military had approached Indian authorities seeking help to be discharged
New Delhi: Russia said on Saturday that it had stopped recruiting Indian nationals into its armed forces in April this year and that authorities are working for the early discharge of Indians who “voluntarily contracted for military service”.
The Russian embassy in New Delhi outlined the position on Indians serving in the Russian military a day after external affairs minister S Jaishankar informed Parliament on Friday that the two sides have differing views on the status of 91 Indians recruited into the Russian military.
Jaishankar said in Lok Sabha during question hour that India takes the matter very seriously and has pressed Russia to ensure the release and repatriation of all its citizens serving in the Russian armed forces. Eight Indians have been killed so far while serving with Russian units on the frontlines of the war with Ukraine.
“Since April this year, the ministry of defence of the Russian Federation has stopped admission of citizens of a number of foreign countries, including India, to military service in the Russian Armed Forces,” the Russian embassy said in a statement.
“The agencies concerned in both countries work in close coordination for early identification and discharge of Indian nationals who voluntarily contracted for military service in Russia,” the statement said.
The embassy said it was responding to requests from the media to comment on Indian citizens in service in the Russian armed forces “as there have been unfortunate instances of casualties among them in the course of the special military operation in Ukraine.”
“The Embassy expresses deep condolences to the Government of India and the families of the deceased,” the statement said. “All contractual obligations and due compensation payments will be fulfilled in full measure,” it added.
The embassy said the Russian government has “at no point of time been engaged in any public or obscure campaigns, more so in fraudulent schemes to recruit the Indian nationals for military service in Russia.”
Jaishankar had on Friday outlined the differing views of the two sides on the matter: “The problem…is that the Russian authorities maintain that these Indian nationals entered into contracts for service with the Russian Army. We are not necessarily subscribing to that.”
He further said many Indians recruited into the Russian military were “misled,” and they were “told that they were going for some other job” and “then deployed with the Russian Army.”
Jaishankar said a total of 91 Indians were recruited into the Russian Army, and 14 of them were discharged or had come back to India. Sixty-nine Indian citizens are currently awaiting release from the Russian Army.
Besides the eight Indians who died on the frontlines of the war with Ukraine, several more, recruited as support staff such as cooks and helpers, have been injured.
Jaishankar said he had raised the issue numerous times with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised it with President Vladimir Putin when he visited Moscow in July. Modi received an assurance from Putin that any Indian national in service with the Russian Army will be discharged and released.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a criminal case against 19 individuals and entities for their alleged role in recruiting Indian nationals for the Russian Army. Two accused were arrested on April 24 and two more on May 7.
(With Inputs From Agencies)
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