SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Students Association has urgently reached out to Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to highlight the dire situation of thirty Indian nationals, including two Kashmiris, trapped in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The Kashmiris have been forced into joining the Russain army.
The association’s plea emphasises that despite numerous appeals to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the concerned embassy over the past four months, no significant measures have been taken to address the grave issue. Among the trapped nationals is Azad Yusuf Kumar from Poshwan Awantipora in the Pulwama district of Kashmir. Azad was deceived by a Dubai-based consultant, Faisal Khan, who promised job opportunities in cooking and cleaning advertised through a YouTube channel named “Baba Vlogs.” After travelling from Mumbai to Sharjah and then to Moscow, Azad and his companions were coerced into signing documents in Russian and subsequently handed over to the Russian army. Following a brief training period, they were deployed to the Ukraine border, where Azad sustained injuries and remains stranded.
Another affected individual, Zahoor Ahmad Sheikh from Hajinar Tangdar in Kupwara, also disappeared in Russia. Zahoor had travelled to Russia in December 2023 with his companions, Arbaab from Uttar Pradesh and Asfaan from Hyderabad. His sudden disappearance has caused immense distress among his family and friends.
The association has also brought attention to six Indians from the same village in Haryana who are stuck in the Russia-Ukraine warzone. Each household in the village reportedly has someone serving in the army, and families have recounted the severe hardships faced by their loved ones trapped in this conflict. They described the miserable conditions and the constant threat to their lives, with no assistance from MEA officials.
Desperate families have sought help in New Delhi but have been unable to meet any top government officials. They have been living in a state of anguish for the past four months, longing for the safe return of their loved ones. The urgency of the situation has heightened with the deaths of two Indians and two Nepali nationals on the war front. Hemil Ashwinbhai Mangukiya, a 23-year-old from Surat, Gujarat, was killed in a Ukrainian airstrike in the Donetsk region on February 21. The loss of two Nepali nationals in the same area has further deepened the anxiety among the thirty Indian families.
