7 Indian Youths Who Went To Russia For New Year Party, 'Tricked Into Ukraine War'
They had a visa for the Russia trip - valid for 90 days - but then travelled to neighbouring Belarus.
A group of young men hailing from Punjab and Haryana has urgently appealed to the government for assistance, alleging that they were deceived into military service in Russia and deployed to participate in Moscow's conflict against Ukraine.
The members of the group say that they were misled about the nature of their engagement and vehemently seeks intervention to resolve this distressing situation.
A distressing 105-second video, shared on the social media platform X features seven men attired in military-style winter jackets with hoods or skull caps. The scene unfolds within a cramped and unkempt room with a sealed and locked window at one end. In this confined space, six of the individuals huddle together in one corner, while the seventh, identified as 19-year-old Harsh from Karnal, Haryana, records a video message detailing their predicament and earnestly seeking assistance.
? Indian tourists in Russia claim that they were forced to fight in Russia-Ukraine war.#RussiaUkraineWar #IndiansinRussia pic.twitter.com/OY1p4W126d
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Family of one of the peosons in the video, identified as Harsh told NDTV that he was lured by some job agents who told him that he could go to other countries after going to Russia.
"My son went abroad on December 23. He went in search of work and was caught in Russia, where his passport was snatched away. He told us they had been caught by Russian soldiers, who threatened him with 10 years of jail and recruited him. He said he was forced to do military training," his mother told NDTV.
According to reports, nearly two dozen Indians are currently trapped in Russia. All of them claiming that they were tricked into war against Ukraine.