India asks Russia to immediately release 44 Indians fighting in its army

The Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed that at least 44 Indian nationals are currently serving in the Russian army MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government has raised the issue with Russian authorities urging the release of these individuals and warning citizens against accepting recruitment offers citing serious risks to lifeJaiswal said In the last few months yes we have come to know we have been informed of several Indian nationals who have been recruited in the Russian army We have once again taken up the matter with the Russian authorities to have them released at the earliest as also to put an end to this practiceHe added As per our understanding 44 Indian nationals are currently serving in the Russian army We are in touch with the Russian side We are also in touch with the families of these people and giving them an update on the matter We once again take this opportunity to convey to all that one should stay away from offers being made to serve in the Russian army because it is an offer that is fraught with danger to life and theres risk to lifeThe statement comes on a day when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko in New DelhiIn a post on X Jaishankar said Good to meet Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko of Russia today Discussed taking forward our multifaceted bilateral cooperation Also exchanged views on important regional global and multilateral developmentsThe development comes ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putins planned visit to India in early December for the annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra ModiIndia and Russia share a longstanding strategic partnership Since the signing of the Declaration on the IndiaRussia Strategic Partnership in October 2000 during President Vladimir Putins visit the relationship has expanded across political security defence economic science cultural and peopletopeople cooperationThis is not the first time the issue of Indians being recruited into the Russian military has come upIn July Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told the Rajya Sabha There were 127 Indian nationals in the Russian armed forces out of which the services of 98 individuals were discontinued as a result of sustained engagement between the Indian and Russian Governments on this matter including at the highest levels 13 Indian nationals remain in the Russian armed forces out of which 12 individuals have been reported missing by the Russian sideHe had further said that Russian authorities had been urged to provide updates on the remaining or missing individuals and ensure their safety wellbeing and early discharge For those who were released Indian missions helped arrange travel documents and tickets for their returnSingh had reiterated that Indian missions accord highest priority to the safety security and wellbeing of all Indian nationals abroad and act promptly whenever assistance is requiredIn January this year the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that 12 Indian nationals were killed while serving in the Russian army during the ongoing conflict with UkraineLast year the Central Bureau of Investigation uncovered a major humantrafficking network operating across several states The racket targeted Indian nationals by promising highpaying jobs abroad but allegedly sent them to the RussiaUkraine war zone insteadThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever