‘After PM Modi went back, I am being asked to go to frontline’: Punjab man in Russian army
Gagandeep Singh is among the many Indians who claimed that they were inducted into the Russian army against their will; President Vladimir Putin had agreed for the release of Indian nationals who wished to return to India following discussions with PM Modi.
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Indians who were promised jobs as helpers in Russia government offices but were sent to the frontlines of the war with Ukraine. (Express Photo)Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of Indians fighting in the Russian army against Ukraine during his visit to Russia, a man from Punjab said on Friday his hopes to return home had been dashed as he has been asked to return to the frontline.
Gagandeep Singh from Punjab’s Gurdaspur is among the many men from India who have claimed that they were inducted into the Russian army against their will and forced to fight.
Though Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to the release of Indian nationals who wished to return to India following discussions with PM Modi, Gagandeep Singh said his commander denied getting any orders from the government for their release. “After PM Modi went back, now the whole unit is going to the frontline, and I have also been told to join the unit. I request the Indian government to talk to Russia and arrange our visit back to India,” he said from a camp where he is recovering from a knee injury.
Singh could talk to The Indian Express as he was sent back from the frontline due to the injury and he had access to the internet while in the camp.
“Here all the officers know about the announcement made by Putin that we will be released. We were earlier informed that we would be sent back home,” Singh said, mentioning PM Modi’s visit to Russia earlier in the week when he raised the issue of Indian men being recruited into the Russian army.
Singh said his Indian friends from his unit are already on the frontline, adding that three of them had made a brief visit one by one to their camp which is at a secure place.
“My friends told me that the situation is very serious at the frontline. One man from Uttar Pradesh was on the frontline. He came back last night and narrated the horrific conditions at the frontline. I have not been able to talk to my Punjabi friends for many days as they are all on the frontline. They have been sending maximum force to the frontline,” said Singh.
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