How Indian Youth Were Deceived Into Fighting For Russia

They set out with dreams of a brighter future, lured by promises of well-paying jobs overseas—only to be thrust into the heart of a war they never chose. Young men, many from struggling families, were deceived, trafficked, and stripped of their freedom. Instead of stable work and a path to prosperity, they found themselves in Russian military fatigues, forced to hold rifles they had never been trained to use, standing on the bloodied front lines of Ukraine. No drills, no preparation—only terror in their eyes as artillery shells rained down around them. Trapped in a conflict beyond their understanding, abandoned by those who had sold them false hope, they now fight not for a cause but for survival, mere pawns in a vast and ruthless web of deception and exploitation.

In Mihirpurwa village in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, Mahindra Verma’s wait for his brother’s dead body grows longer each day. On March 20, 2024, he received a distressing video call from his younger brother, Surendra, 21.

“Brother, my chances of survival are less than one percent. I am inside a tanker and have recorded a video. If you find it, please forward it. They took me far away from Russia… I do not know where I am, but I believe it is Ukraine. There’s gunfire all around… a bomb or missile could hit me at any moment. This is my last message to you,” Surendra said, his voice trembling with fear.

These words haunt Mahindra every day. That was the last communication the family ever had with Surendra. Officially declared dead, his body remains unreturned, leaving his family in a painful limbo.

Surendra’s story is not unique. Across India, young men were lured to Russia with promises of decent jobs only to be thrown into the warfront.

The Deception That Led to War

Mahindra recalls how Surendra came in contact with a group of youths from Haryana who were planning to go to Russia. “He had worked in the transport company in Kaithal, Haryana, in 2019 and had made friends there. His friends told him they had found well-paying jobs and were heading to Russia,” Mahindra explains.

The family spent Rs 11.5 lakh to send Surendra to Russia, believing he would work in transport sector. But on January 13, 2024, he was sent directly to an army camp. When the family found out, they contacted the agent who facilitated his travel, only to be met with indifference.

Another victim, Ajay, last spoke to his brother on March 28, 2024.

“He told me he was going to the frontlines. That was our last conversation. Phones were banned there. After that, we lost all contact,” Ajay says.

In July, the Indian embassy informed Ajay’s family that his brother, Ravi, had died.

“We asked for his body, but it never arrived. We filed a case against the agent, but he is out on bail. We have received no financial aid. I will regret for the rest of my life that despite all our efforts, we could not save my brother,” Ajay laments.

A Narrow Escape from Death

Sahil was one of the few fortunate enough to return home alive, though the trauma he carries is immeasurable.

“I went to Russia to work in transport sector on a friend’s recommendation. I had no idea I would be recruited into the Russian army,” Sahil recalls.

Upon arrival, he found himself surrounded by Russian military personnel. His friend reassured him that he would only be involved in loading and unloading goods, but just 12 days later, Sahil and his colleagues were forcibly relocated.

“We were made to sit in a van, and our phones were switched off. They told us that keeping the phone on could reveal our location to the enemy. When we reached a destroyed building, they forced us to sign documents in Russian—contracts binding us to serve in the Russian army for a year,” he explains.

Sahil and other recruits from Rajasthan, Sri Lanka, and Cuba were transported to Donetsk, a war-torn region in Ukraine. Within days, they were given bulletproof vests, helmets, and rifles. Protests and pleas were ignored.

“The city was in ruins. Bombs exploded constantly. We dug bunkers, carried the wounded, and transported dead bodies. At first, the sight of so many corpses disturbed me. I could not sleep or eat. But eventually, I became numb. In war, death becomes an everyday reality,” Sahil says.

During an intense battle, a grenade exploded nearby, severing his friend’s leg. “A piece of flesh landed on my face. I was horrified. We had no proper training. We were thrown into war without preparation,” he says.

Sahil himself was later wounded in a drone attack. Hospitalized for three and a half months, he was finally freed after months of diplomatic intervention.

A nightmare for three friends

In down southern part of India, in Karnataka, same story emanates as Abdul Naeem, Mohammad Sameer Ahmed, and Syed Ilyas Hussain were among the many young men from India who were deceived by the promise of lucrative jobs in Russia. These three friends from Kalaburagi, Karnataka, had high hopes when they decided to leave their homeland. Their families had struggled to arrange the money demanded by the agents—Rs 3 lakh each—for what they believed was a legitimate job opportunity.

Their ordeal began with an agent named Faisal Khan, who operated through a YouTube channel called Baba Vlogs. Faisal convinced these men that Russia offered security jobs with a handsome salary of Rs 1.5 lakh per month. Naeem, who had previously worked for Emirates Flight Catering Company in Dubai, saw this as a golden opportunity. He liquidated his savings and paid the initial installment to Faisal.

On December 17, 2023, Naeem, Sameer, and others left India with the hope of a bright future. However, what awaited them was a living nightmare.

After arriving in Moscow, the young men met another agent named Nazil. He demanded an additional Rs 80,000 from each person, assuring them that they would be employed soon. Instead, within a day, they were handed over to the Russian army. Their passports were confiscated, and they were made to sign a two-page contract in Russian, the contents of which were never explained to them.

The nightmare escalated quickly. They were transported to Luhansk, a Russian-occupied city near the Ukraine border, where they underwent a 21-day military training. “We were trained to use guns, grenades, and provide first aid to the injured,” Naeem recalled. “We realized too late that we were being prepared for war.”

When they protested, they were coldly told, “You signed a contract. You are now soldiers. You cannot leave before a year.”

Their training regimen was brutal. Woken up at 6 AM, they were drilled relentlessly. They were housed with other foreign recruits—50 men from Nepal and Cuba. After training, they were deployed to the frontlines. “We were sent in groups of ten to dig trenches near the Black Sea while drones hovered overhead,” Naeem recounted. “The moment we heard a drone, we would dive into the bushes, fearing death.”

Life in the War Zone: Hunger, Fear, and Death

Food was scarce and consisted mostly of packed meat, pasta, and Maggi noodles. Pork was commonly served, but the Muslim recruits avoided it. Their salaries, deposited in Russian bank accounts, were mostly inaccessible. They had to bribe Russian officers with up to 50,000 rubles a month to avoid being sent to the most dangerous zones.

“If we refused to fight, we were thrown into pits—16 to 20 feet deep—for 48 hours without food or water. The extreme cold made survival unbearable,” Sameer said, recalling the horrors he endured.

Some were not as lucky. “Azad from Kashmir was shot in the leg,” Naeem recalled. “He was left bleeding for hours before receiving medical aid.”

Azad Yousuf, a 31-year-old engineering graduate from Pulwama, Kashmir in India had moved to Russia from Dubai and was made to work with others to dig trenches and do other menial work.

Their duties were grim. Apart from digging trenches, they were forced to carry bodies from the battlefield. “I can still see the bodies,” Sameer whispered, his voice shaking. “Sometimes, there were just limbs scattered on the ground. The worst was when we had to pick up the remains of our own comrades.”

One of them was Hemal, a young man from Gujarat. “He was digging when a drone dropped a bomb right in front of him,” Sameer said. “He died instantly. His death shook me. We cried for hours.”

The psychological toll was immense. Many recruits suffered from severe anxiety and depression. “At night, we could hear each other crying in our beds. Some of us stopped talking altogether,” Syed Ilyas Hussain revealed. “There was no escape from the fear.”

The Libya Connection to war: The Larger Human Trafficking Network

While many young men were deceived into fighting for Russia, a similar story was unfolding in Libya. Dozens of Indian workers were lured to Libya under the false pretence of construction and security jobs. However, once they reached Tripoli and Benghazi, their passports were confiscated, and they were forcibly trained to fight alongside Russian-backed militias. The Wagner Group, a notorious paramilitary organization linked to the Kremlin, was allegedly behind the recruitment.

Many of these men were transported from Libya to Russia and later sent to the frontlines in Ukraine. “We were told we would be working in Libya, but suddenly we found ourselves on a flight to Russia,” recalled Shankar, a survivor from Telangana. “We were tricked, and there was no way out.”

Reports indicate that some Indian recruits in Libya were forced to undergo military training in the deserts before being shipped off to Russia. “They used us like disposable soldiers,” said an anonymous survivor. “They never saw us as humans, just as cheap labor for war.”

For months, their families had no idea what had happened to them. Then, in March 2024, a desperate plea emerged. A video surfaced showing three Indian men in Russian military uniforms, begging for help. “We are trapped in the Russian army,” one of them pleaded. “We request Prime Minister Modi and Jaishankar sir to bring us home.”

Their families sprang into action. Abdul Naeem’s father, Abdul Rauf, reached out to politicians, ministers, and the Indian embassy. “We contacted law makers – Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), Member of Parliament (MPs), Karnataka ministers, an MP from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. We even sought help from the Indian and Russian embassies,” Rauf said. “But months passed, and nothing happened.”

Meanwhile, the young men continued to suffer. “One day, they told us we were being released,” Naeem said. “We were overjoyed. But the next morning, they took us back to the battlefield with bulletproof vests and ordered us to fight. We knew then that escape was impossible.”

Some families even paid ransom to agents in India and Russia, hoping to secure their release. “We sold our land to get our son back,” said Sameer’s mother. “But we were fooled again. The money disappeared, and my son was still trapped.”

The first sign of hope came in September 2024. “One day, we were told our contracts were canceled, and we were being sent home,” Naeem said. “After a 40-hour journey, we reached Moscow. For the first time in eight months, we reunited with our fellow captives.”

However, even as they reached home, their nightmare was far from over. “We returned empty-handed. The Russian army still owes us months of unpaid wages,” Sameer said. “Faisal Khan, the man who lured us into this, is still free. He should be arrested and punished.”

For Syed Ilyas Hussain, the trauma of war is inescapable. “There was never a moment without fear. When Hemal died, Sufiyan and I were forced to replace him. Six others were with us. All of them died. I survived by pretending to have chest pain. They sent me to a hospital, and that saved my life.”

Psychological Trauma of War

The horror of war leaves scars far beyond the battlefield. Survivors like Sahil and families of deceased victims face psychological distress that experts say can have lifelong consequences.

Dr. S.K. Pandey, Medical Officer at Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, emphasizes the severity of war trauma. “Many of these young men have experienced extreme violence, death, and captivity. PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a serious concern. Flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, and depression are common symptoms. The worst part is that without proper mental health intervention, these individuals may struggle to reintegrate into normal life.”

Dr. Nilima Siddiqui, a psychiatrist, echoes these concerns. “When someone is forced into violence against their will, their sense of identity is shattered. We see cases where survivors exhibit survivor’s guilt, fearing they should have done more to save their comrades. Some develop substance abuse issues or severe depression. Governments and NGOs must step in to provide mental health support to these victims.”

The battle does not end when the war is over. For those who return, a long road of healing lies ahead, and for the families who lost their loved ones, closure remains a distant dream.

Government response:

On March 9, 2024 the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) formally raised concerns with the Russian government regarding a human trafficking syndicate that had deceived Indian nationals with false job offers, only to coerce them into working as support staff for the Russian Army. In response, the Indian government also launched legal action against the agents responsible for luring these individuals into the scheme.

The MEA confirmed that twelve Indian nationals—among the 126 who were misled into going to Russia—have died fighting for the Russian Army in Ukraine. Additionally, sixteen others are currently reported as “missing.” The foreign ministry emphasized that India has been in continuous communication with Russian authorities to secure the release and repatriation of all Indian nationals trapped in Russia and forced to participate in the war.

While official estimates suggest that 126 Indian nationals have been caught in this situation, survivors claim the actual number is significantly higher. The Indian police have arrested at least four individuals linked to the fraudulent recruitment network, which promised unsuspecting job seekers legitimate employment opportunities abroad.

“Several Indian nationals have been duped into working for the Russian Army. We have taken up the matter with the Russian government to ensure their early discharge,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

A viral video from early 2024 showed a group of men from Punjab and Haryana – wearing army uniforms – claiming they were tricked into fighting the war in Ukraine and doubling down on their request for help. This woke up Indian intelligence agencies and the case was handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The issue gained widespread attention when the families of approximately ten young men from Punjab and Haryana staged a protest in front of the Russian Embassy in New Delhi on August 14, 2024. The protesters, mostly parents and relatives of the missing individuals, demanded immediate intervention from both the Indian and Russian governments to secure the safe return of their loved ones. Holding placards and shouting slogans, they accused recruitment agents of deceiving their sons with false promises of well-paying jobs in Russia, only for them to be forcibly sent to the battlefield in Ukraine.

Some of the families claimed they had lost contact with their sons for months, while others had received distressing messages describing how they had been tricked, had their passports taken away, and were forced into combat roles. The demonstration drew the attention of the media, further amplifying the urgency of the issue. The families also submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), urging the Indian government to take diplomatic steps to bring back those stranded in the war zone.

This protest marked a turning point in the case, as it put significant pressure on the Indian authorities to take more aggressive action against human traffickers and engage in high-level talks with Russian officials regarding the release and repatriation of Indian nationals caught in the conflict.

Official say the first reports of Indian men being forcibly recruited into Russia’s war effort emerged in early March 2024 when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) exposed a “major human trafficking network” spanning from New Delhi to the southern state of Tamil Nadu. According to the CBI, Russian recruiters, with the help of local agents, used social media platforms to entice Indian citizens with offers of well-paying jobs, admissions to dubious private universities, and “free or discounted” visa extensions. However, upon arrival in Russia, these men had their passports confiscated and were subjected to military training before being deployed to the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war against their will.

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar had said that the “toughest legal action” will be taken against agents who cheated students from Kerala into fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine. “It is totally unacceptable that any Indian should be taken to a conflict zone and in any manner be made to work for a conflict, for an army…,” Mr Jaishankar had said.

Deprivation main cause of human trafficking

India is not the only country whose nationals have been caught in this web of forced military service. Citizens from Sri Lanka and Nepal have also found themselves drawn into the Russian army, often under deceptive circumstances. Experts from the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation (ORF) describe this as part of a broader “foreign fighters phenomenon” driven by a combination of “push-pull” factors. These include Russia’s growing demand for foreign labor, the economic incentives offered to recruits, and the increasing militarization of South Asian societies.

The root causes of this migration can be traced back to economic distress in these nations. Sri Lanka’s severe financial crisis in 2022, Nepal’s ongoing recession, and India’s soaring unemployment rates have left many desperate for work abroad. “The prospect of higher wages and an expedited path to citizenship makes Russia an attractive destination, particularly given its urgent need for manpower and its demographic challenges,” said ORF expert Rajoli Siddharth Jayaprakash.

The Wait Continues

Despite mounting diplomatic efforts, India’s response to the plight of its citizens trapped in the Russia-Ukraine war remains restrained. The government has steadfastly avoided condemning Russia’s invasion, abstaining from all related resolutions at the United Nations. Instead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen the path of measured diplomacy, reiterating in his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin that “today’s era is not an era of war.”

But for families like Mehandra Verma’s, those words offer little comfort. Every day, Verma wakes up with the same unanswered questions: When will his brother’s body return? Will he ever get to perform the last rites? His younger brother left home with dreams of a better life, only to be deceived, trafficked, and thrown into a war that was never his to fight. Now, his family is left with nothing but silence from authorities, broken promises, and an unbearable weight of uncertainty.

Each passing day feels like an eternity. His mother still sets aside a plate at dinner, unable to accept that her son is gone. His father, once a proud man, now sits quietly on the porch, staring at the road as if expecting his child to walk through the door. But deep down, they all know the truth—their son will never return alive.

All they ask for now is a body, a chance to say a final goodbye, to light the funeral pyre and offer prayers for his soul. But even that closure remains elusive. The war may be thousands of miles away, but for Mehandra Verma and his family, it rages on in their hearts—an endless battle between hope and despair.