New Delhi: In a response to external affairs minister S. Jaishankar’s statement in parliament that the government does not endorse Russia’s claim that Indians knowingly entered into contracts with the Russian army, Russia’s embassy has said that Moscow has not been involved in any recruitment efforts, especially in “fraudulent schemes”, to enlist Indian citizens for military service.A day earlier, Jaishankar had said in the Lok Sabha that the “problem” in the swift repatriation of Indians was that the “Russian authorities maintain that these Indian nationals entered into contracts for service with the Russian army”.“We do not, we are not necessarily subscribing to that,” he noted on Friday, during discussion on a question about Indians in Russian army.“I think in many cases, there are reasons to indicate that our nationals were misled, that they were being told that they were going for some other job and that they were then deployed with the Russian army”.He stated in parliament that President Vladimir Putin had assured Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit that any Indian national in the service of Russian army “will be discharged and released”.In a press statement on Saturday, the Russian embassy asserted that “the Russian Government has at no point of time been engaged in any public or obscure campaigns, more so in fraudulent schemes to recruit the Indian nationals for military service in Russia”.It noted that Indian and Russian authorities were closely coordinating for “early identification and discharge of Indian nationals who voluntarily contracted for military service in Russia”.The Russian embassy’s statement asserted that all Indian nationals had “voluntarily” contracted for military service, contradicting the Indian foreign minister’s claims.“All contractual obligations and due compensation payments will be fulfilled in full measure,” the embassy stated.It also claimed that the Russian ministry of defence had since April 2024 “stopped admission of citizens of a number of foreign countries, including India, to military service in the Russian Armed Forces”.The Indian government has reported that 13 Indian nationals have left the Russian armed forces, while another 66 are seeking early discharge. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has confirmed the deaths of at least eight Indian nationals serving in the Russian army on the Russia-Ukraine frontline.
