10 Indian nationals working in Russian Army have returned, says MEA

NEW DELHI: Among the Indian nationals who were working as support staff in the Russian Army, 10 have returned to India, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India is actively pursuing these matters at various levels and the Russian side has assured that the remaining Indians will also be released.

Addressing the weekly press conference, Jaiswal said, “As far as the question regarding Indian nationals is concerned, we are very actively pursuing these matters at various levels, including with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Defence and several other organisations there”.

“We are committed to bringing back all the people who are so far who have gotten in touch with us and want to be released. 10 such individuals have come back to India. They have been released and they have returned home. We have been assured by the Russian side that the other Indians who are there, will also be released and they will return home”, he added.

National Security Advisor #AjitDoval participated at the XII International Meeting of High Ranking Officials Responsible for Security Matters in St Petersburg, #Russia.

National Security Advisor has emphasised that India will continue to cooperate in countering the misuse of… pic.twitter.com/qnCfBBGhTw

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) April 25, 2024

The MEA spokesperson informed that National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is currently in St Petersburg, Russia, to attend the 12th international meeting of high-ranking officials responsible for security matters. He added that NSA Doval also held several meetings on the sidelines of the event; including Russian NSA, Nikolai Patrushev and Chief Advisor to Brazilian President, Celso Amorim.

“Our National Security Adviser is in St Petersburg to attend the 12th international meeting of high-ranking officials responsible for security matters and on the sidelines, he had several other meetings, including with his counterpart Nikolai Patrushev in Russia. They have discussed several issues which form part of a bilateral agenda and he also had several other meetings with, including Celso Amorim from Brazil”, Jaiswal said.

Earlier, the MEA had said that New Delhi is constantly in touch with Moscow authorities to have Indian nationals released and discharged from the Russian army as early as possible.

Notably, at least two Indians have died while serving in the Russian army, as around 20 others were allegedly duped into fighting in Russia’s war with Ukraine on the pretext of lucrative jobs.

Recently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), busted a major human trafficking network running across the country targeting Indian nationals on the promise of offering lucrative jobs abroad but allegedly sending them to the Russia-Ukraine war zone.

The CBI stated that these traffickers have been operating as an organised network and were luring Indian nationals through social media channels like YouTube, etc., and also through their local contacts and agents for highly paid jobs in Russia.

Thereafter, the trafficked Indian nationals were trained in combat roles and deployed at front bases in the Russia-Ukraine War zone against their wishes, thus, putting their lives in grave danger. It has been ascertained that some of the victims were also grievously injured in the war zone. The investigation is under way. (ANI)