Two more Indians working with Russian Army killed in Ukraine

New Delhi: Two more citizens of India working with the soldiers of Russia as members of the support staff have been killed in the conflict zone of Ukraine, the Ministry of External Affairs stated in New Delhi.

The killing of two more citizens of India in Ukraine prompted New Delhi to urge the people of the country once again to be cautious while seeking employment opportunities in Russia.

The government also strongly took up the matter with Moscow’s envoy to New Delhi, Denis Alipov, and asked him to ensure the early release and return of the Indians working with the Russian Army units in Ukraine.

“We regret to state that two Indian nationals who had been recruited by the Russian Army have recently been killed in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” the MEA stated in a press release issued on Tuesday. “We offer our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased. Our embassy in Moscow has pressed the Russian authorities, including the Ministry of Defence, for early repatriation of mortal remains”.

Earlier, in February and March this year, two Indians – Mohammed Afsan of Hyderabad and Hemil Ashvinbhai Mangukiya of Surat – had been killed while working with the Russian Army units in Ukraine as members of the support staff.

The Central Bureau of Investigation in early March conducted raids in 15 locations in seven cities and busted a human trafficking racket that had recruited youths from India for jobs in Russia, had sent them to the former Soviet Union nation, where they had been forced to work as members of the support staff of the Russian Army in the battlegrounds of Ukraine.

The government had early this year stated that ‘20-odd people’ working as members of the support staff of the Russian Army had contacted New Delhi’s diplomatic mission in Moscow and efforts were on for their ‘early discharge’. The number, however, had gone up later, as the Embassy of India in Moscow came to know about a few more Indians caught in a similar situation with the Russian Army units in Ukraine.

After two more Indians were killed recently, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Embassy of India in Moscow strongly took up the matter with the Russian Ambassador in New Delhi and with Russian authorities in Moscow respectively, for early release and return of all Indian nationals who are with the Russian Army.

India has also demanded that there be a verified stop to any further recruitment of our nationals by the Russian Army. “Such activities would not be in consonance with our partnership,” New Delhi conveyed to Moscow.

The MEA urge Indian nationals to exercise caution while seeking employment opportunities in Russia.