SRINAGAR: Three young men from Jammu and Kashmir are among a group of 13 Indians trapped in Russian-controlled Ukraine, allegedly forced into military service after travelling to Russia on study visas. Their desperate appeals for help have reached families back home, who say they only wanted an education, not a war.
According to a report in The Tribune, the group of Indians includes three from JK, three from Punjab, two from Uttar Pradesh, three from Haryana and two from Rajasthan. Aged between 20 and 27, at least seven of them had originally gone to Russia to pursue studies.
“We have just a day or two left. After that, they’ll send us to war,” one youth cried over a monitored WhatsApp call, recounting how promises of lucrative jobs turned into entrapment. The men were told they would receive Rs 20 lakh after training and monthly salaries of up to Rs 2 lakh. Instead, they were taken to military camps and barred from leaving.
The conditions are grim. The young men say they survive on bread and jam, while being threatened at gunpoint if they demand to return. “You’ll either die here or kill the enemy,” Russian officers allegedly tell them. At least five Indians have already died, and others are feared missing.
The families in Jammu and Kashmir are now gripped by fear, urging the government to intervene. “These boys went abroad to study, not to fight someone else’s war. The government must bring them back safely now,” a relative told The Tribune.
The youths claim they have informed the Indian Embassy but have yet to receive help. Their urgent plea to the Ministry of External Affairs is simple: rescue them before it is too late.
