New Delhi: Several Indians, who worked as support staff to the Russian army, were “discharged” following India’s demand, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Monday.
It said India remains committed, as a matter of “top priority”, to actively pursuing with the Russian authorities all the relevant cases of Indian nationals for an early discharge from the Russian army.
According to media reports, several Indians have been working as security helpers in the Russian military, and they were forced to even fight with Russian soldiers in certain areas along Russia’s border with Ukraine.
“We have seen some inaccurate reports in the media regarding Indians with the Russian army seeking help for discharge,” the MEA said in a statement.
“Each and every such case brought to the attention of the Indian embassy in Moscow has been strongly taken up with the Russian authorities and those brought to the attention of the ministry have been taken up with the Russian embassy in New Delhi,” it said.
The MEA added, “Several Indians have already been discharged as a result.”
Last week, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi was in touch with Moscow for early “discharge” of Indians working as support staff to the Russian Army and urged its nationals to stay away from the conflict zone in Ukraine.
“We urge all Indian nationals to exercise due caution and stay away from this conflict,” he had said.
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi had urged the ministry to rescue the Indians.
In a related development, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association said it wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, seeking their intervention for repatriation of two youths “trapped” in Russia.
It said one youth is trapped along the Russia-Ukraine border and another reportedly missing within Russia.
In a statement, the national convener of the association, Nasir Khuehami, said that Azad Yusuf Kumar and several others have been ensnared in a fraudulent recruitment scheme, wherein they were deceived into travelling to Russia under false promises of job opportunities in cooking and cleaning.
PTI