‘Forcibly recruited in Russian Army, handed weapons, now on brink of death’: Punjab man’s kin seek help

His family says he had gone in a bid to “find a suitable job but was forcibly recruited in the Russian Army” to serve in its ongoing war with Ukraine.

Like him, many youths from Punjab travel abroad on study visas but with the intention of finding odd jobs so that they can send money to support their struggling families back home.

Speaking to The Indian Express, his sister Karamjit Kaur said her brother had gone to Russia on October 24 last year via a Delhi-based agent whom he had contacted via YouTube.

“It was only recently that we got to know that he had been forcibly taken to the battlefield and recruited in the Russian Army. He has no idea how to operate any weapon. He is on the brink of death. We appeal to the Centre and the Punjab Government to bring him back,” said Karamjit.

‘Kill the enemy or we’ll kill you’

In the purported video, Buta is seen with four other men from Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir. One of them is heard saying: “We had come to Moscow. We were in contact with a woman who had claimed that there were vacancies for jobs such as computer operator, driver, etc. We were interested only in these jobs. We were lured with good salaries.”

“We were a total of 25 men. They made us sign a contract but we have no idea what was written in it. Then they sent us to an army training centre and we were handed guns. We repeatedly refused, saying that we cannot operate guns, but they said: ‘Either kill the enemy or we will kill you.’ Now we have been brought to the Ukrainian border. Those who leave from here for the battlefield, either go missing or do not return,” the man added.

“We urge the Punjab government and the BJP-led Centre to please evacuate us. The agent lied to us and brought us here. This might be our last video. We are in danger,” he said.

In another video, Buta Singh can be heard saying: “We never knew we would be recruited in the army. We have been cheated. We were promised other jobs.”

Karamjit said the family last received a voice message over WhatsApp from Buta on September 11. “His phone’s internet is not working, and we have no idea what situation he is in now. In the voice note, he claims to be fine but we know that he is only giving us false assurances. He had gone to Russia only to improve our family’s financial condition.”

‘Sold land to pay agent, rest washed away in flood’

Before moving to Russia, Buta, who had studied till Class 8, worked for a private firm in Singapore for nearly four years.

The family had sold two acres of their land to arrange money to pay the agent. “First, we sold our land to pay the agent and now in the floods, another two acres which we had taken on contract to grow paddy, has been washed away,” Karamjit added.

Buta’s father Ram Singh is a daily wager, while mother Paramjit Kaur tends to livestock to run the family.

In her letter to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, his mother Paramjit stated that Buta had gone to Russia for higher studies.

“We now know that the Russian government has forcibly recruited my son into its army and pushed him into the face of death. He is my only son. He is currently living in the shadow of fear and death, and he has not been given any kind of training. Neither does my son know how to handle any kind of weapon. We came to know that 15 other Punjabis have also been forcibly recruited in the Army and four-five of them are said to have died,” she wrote, while urging the Centre to intervene.

Karamjit added, “We have no idea if the agent sent him to Russia legally or illegally but now he is in grave trouble. He never told us that he was recruited in the Russian Army. We got to know only through videos that went viral. We are also under a debt of Rs 6 lakh.”

Issue raised with Russian authorities: MEA

In its latest statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that “many Indians were likely misled by agents with false promises of construction jobs, only to be deployed on the battlefield. The ministry has repeatedly issued warnings to Indian nationals to stay away from offers to join the Russian army.”

The ministry confirmed that the issue has been raised with Russian authorities in both Delhi and Moscow, stressing that the practice must be “ended and that our nationals be released”.

Earlier, according to the MEA’s reply in Lok Sabha on February 7 this year, “Out of the 127 Indian nationals in the Russian armed forces, the services of 97 individuals have been discontinued. 12 Indian nationals are reported to have lost their lives. 18 Indian nationals remain in the Russian armed forces, out of which 16 have been reported missing by the Russian side.”

“As a result of regular engagement between India and Russia at the highest level, most Indian nationals in the Russian armed forces have been discharged. In August 2024, the Russian side announced that the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation had stopped admitting Indian nationals in its armed forces since April 2024,” the ministry said in its reply.