Ukraine on Tuesday said it captured an Indian citizen who had been fighting alongside the Russian military during the ongoing conflict between the two countries, PTI reported.
The 63rd Mechanised Brigade of Ukraine’s armed forces released on its Telegram channel a purported video showing the Indian national, Majoti Sahil Mohamed Hussein from Gujarat’s Morbi.
Hussein said he had gone to Russia to study at a university there.
In the video, Hussein speaking in Russian, is saying that he was sentenced to seven years in a Russian prison on drug-related charges, PTI reported.
He added that he was offered the chance to sign a contract with the Russian military to avoid further punishment.
“I didn’t want to stay in prison, so I signed a contract for the special military operation,” PTI quoted him as saying. “But I wanted to get out of there.”
Hussein said that he was sent on his first combat mission on October 1 after 16 days of training, and spent three days on the frontline.
After a conflict with his commander, he surrendered to Ukrainian troops.
“I came across a Ukrainian trench position about two to three kilometres away,” PTI quoted him as saying. “I immediately put down my rifle and said that I didn’t want to fight. I needed help. I don’t want to go back to Russia.”
Indian officials are yet to comment on the matter.
This came just weeks after India said it had urged Russia in September to immediately release and repatriate 27 Indian nationals who were recently recruited into the Russian military.
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had also said that advisories had previously been issued warning Indians “to avoid such enticements that lead them there”.
In September, The Hindu reported that at least 15 Indians were stranded in Ukraine, where they were being forced to fight alongside the Russian military.
In response to questions about the report, Jaiswal had said that accepting offers to join the Russian Army was “fraught with danger”.
In July, the ministry told the Rajya Sabha that there were 127 Indian citizens in the Russian armed forces, of which 98 persons had been discharged from the military and had returned to India “as a result of sustained engagement” between the two governments.
The Russian defence ministry stopped recruiting Indians in April 2024, according to the country’s embassy in New Delhi. However, contracts for military service have delayed the release of several Indians.
Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.
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