Punjab man goes to Russia on student visa, ends up 'recruited' in Army, says family

Chandigarh: A 25-year-old man from a village in Punjab's Moga district, who went to Russia on a student visa last year, has ended up being "recruited" in the Army there and has been "deceitfully" pushed into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, his family says.

The family of Buta Singh from Chak Kanian Kalan village in Moga claims that he is among many men, especially from north India, who have been "deceitfully" pushed into the Russia-Ukraine conflict and are now seeking the Centre's help for their safe return.

When contacted on Tuesday, Singh's sister Karamjit Kaur said over the phone that her brother went to Russia in October 2024 through a travel agent to pursue a language course.

She said the agent had also said he could do part-time jobs in Russia to earn some money.

To arrange money to enable him to go to Russia, the family had sold a piece of land, Kaur said.

She said it was only about a week ago that through some videos that went viral on social media the family came to know that Singh, along with some others, found himself trapped and was "recruited" into the Russian Army to fight against Ukraine.

In the video, Singh and some other men are purportedly heard saying that they had gone to Moscow on student visas and were promised some other jobs later on. But then they found themselves trapped and "recruited" into the Russian Army and were handed over guns and asked to fight.

"We appeal to the BJP government that we should be taken out from here and our lives are in grave danger," another man says in the video.

Kaur said the last communication from her brother was through a voice message on WhatsApp on September 11.

Singh's father is a daily wager and mother tends to livestock to support the family.

Kaur said the family wrote to the Centre recently, seeking help to ensure Singh's safe return.

On Thursday, Congress leader Pargat Singh sought Centre's intervention in the matter of "forcible recruitment" of Indian nationals, particularly from the northern parts of the country, into the Russian Army for its ongoing war against Ukraine.

Pargat Singh had claimed that 111 men from north India have been recruited into the Russian army in this manner, while 15 have gone missing.

Senior Congress leaders Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala expressed deep concern last week and demanded action over an incident, in which two men from Haryana's Fatehabad district -- Ankit Jangra (23) and Vijay Poonia (25) -- were "deceitfully" pushed into the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Surjewala had said Jangra and Poonia had gone to Russia on student visas, but were deceitfully recruited into the Russian army and sent to the war zone on the Ukraine border.

Jangra's brother Raghuvir told reporters recently that the former got in touch with him through a video call and shared details of their situation.

Jangra, who had gone to Moscow on a student visa for a Russian-language course six months ago, had told his brother that there were a few more Indians along with him who were facing the same fate.

A woman in Moscow misled them by telling them that they would get a security job for which they would have to undergo three months of training, after which they would be paid Rs 2.5 lakh per month. They were also made to sign a contract written in Russian, Jangra had said.

Subsequently, they were given Army uniforms and were trained for a few days, before being pushed to the forests of Ukraine.

India on Thursday urged its citizens to stay away from offers to join the Russian Army and demanded that Moscow end its practice of recruiting Indians as support staff for the Russian military.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it has taken up the matter with Russian authorities, both in Delhi and Moscow.

New Delhi's move came following reports that some Indians on student and business visas were forced into joining Russian military units deployed on the frontline of the war in Ukraine.

The ministry cautioned Indian nationals not to take up offers to join the Russian military in view of the inherent "risks and dangers" involved.