Four Indian nationals, who were deceived into joining a private Russian military force and forced to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war, have returned to India with distressing accounts of their ordeal.
Among the returnees is Mohammad Sufiyan from Telangana, who had previously released a video seven months ago pleading for rescue. The other three returnees are from Karnataka. They, along with approximately 60 other young men, were victims of a job scam that promised positions as security personnel or helpers in Russia. Many of these individuals remain stranded in Russia.
The men, who were recruited under false pretenses and shipped to Russia in December 2023, were shocked to discover they were being drafted into combat roles. Sufiyan described their treatment as akin to slavery: “We were forced to work 15-hour days with no rest or sleep, and the conditions were inhumane,” he told The Times of India. They were tasked with physically demanding jobs, such as digging trenches and handling assault rifles, while being provided only minimal rations.
The conditions were brutal; exhaustion was met with threats of violence. “Our hands were blistered, our backs ached, and our spirits were broken. If we showed any sign of fatigue, we were threatened with gunfire to keep us working,” Sufiyan recounted. The psychological strain was equally severe, with their phones confiscated and no clear sense of when they might return home or contact their families.
Syed Ilias Hussaini from Karnataka, another returnee, described living in constant fear, unsure of their survival. Despite the trauma and harrowing experiences, such as witnessing the death of his friend Hamil from Gujarat in a drone attack, the men clung to the hope of returning to their families.
The tragic death of Hamil prompted the men to alert their families, who then sought assistance from Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. This intervention led to their eventual rescue and return to India.
