INDIAN MANDALA Moscow’s promises about Indians at the front. A problem that also affects Sri Lanka and Nepal

India’s Ministry of External Affairs has announced the repatriation of compatriots enlisted to fight in Ukraine following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia. Attracted by high salaries, the possibility of obtaining Russian citizenship and travelling to Europe’s Schengen countries, hundreds of South Asian citizens have travelled to Russia. But in many cases they were unaware that they would be sent to the front.

New Delhi () – Following the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to discharge all Indian citizens fighting on the war front between Russia and Ukraine, the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported. “We expect the discharge to take place within a few weeks from various places where they serve or have been deployed,” commented anonymous sources. The news was not formally confirmed by the Russian side, which is short of men. More than 50 Indians have joined the ranks of the Russian army and at least four have died since the conflict began. But, according to sources, the Russian army has not yet confirmed the news. The Hindu There are many other citizens who have not registered their presence at the Indian Embassy in Moscow.

The phenomenon also affects citizens of Sri Lanka and Nepal. Attracted by high salaries (more than 2,000 euros per month) and the possibility of obtaining Russian citizenship and entering the countries of the Schengen area in Europe, hundreds of South Asians traveled to Russia, in most cases unaware that they would then be sent to the front after a few weeks of training. According to the investigations carried out so far, recruitment is done through intermediaries who promise substantial salaries for security-related jobs, and they enter on a tourist visa. In 2022, for example, 8,275 Indians entered Russia, compared to 7,132 the previous year, and in 2023 electronic visas were implemented to speed up the process.

Mohammed Asfan, one of the Indians killed in the conflict, contacted a recruiter, Faisal Khan – who went by the name “Baba Vlogs” online – when he saw an advert on YouTube. He had been assured that he would not be sent to Ukraine, said his brotherBut then, in November last year, shortly after arriving, Asfan was forced to sign documents in Russian that he did not understand. His death in the war was confirmed in early March.

Since then, Indian and Nepalese investigative authorities have reported that they have arrested several people involved in a human trafficking network, while Sri Lanka has sent a delegation to Russia to investigate and pressure Moscow to repatriate its citizens from Ukraine. The Colombo Parliament has reported that there are at least 2,000 Sri Lankan citizens involved in both fronts. Experts agree that Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, which began in 2022, is the main reason that is pushing people to migrate, including to conflict zones. In fact, a salary of $2,100 is 13 times higher than the average salary in Sri Lanka. And many of those who decide to enlist are often former soldiers who until 2009 participated in the civil war in which the army fought the Tigri Tamil separatist group. But even after the conflict ended, the armed forces continued to have a large number of men, in an attempt to reduce unemployment. The local police, for their part, revealed that It is often retired Sri Lankan generals who act as Russia’s intermediaries.

A similar argument applies to Nepal, where the civil war ended in 2006 and there have been few job opportunities since then. Moreover, this is the homeland of the Gurkhas, the warrior people who, according to a 1947 agreement, also serve in the Indian and British armies. Delhi, for example, has 40,000 Gurkha soldiers, of whom 60% are Nepalese. However, over the years, their numbers have been declining and although Kathmandu prevents Gurkhas from serving in other foreign armies, according to research carried out so far, there are still 100,000 Gurkhas. about 15,000 Nepalese fighting in Ukraine. And here too, many of those who returned home believed that they would be recruited in Russia as cooks or helpers.

According to information circulating on the Internet in recent months, Nepalese stranded in Russia have asked India for help in repatriating them, arguing that Delhi has much more influence in Moscow than Kathmandu. Indeed, Modi’s recent visit to Moscow confirmed the good relations between India and Russia, but According to analysts Putin, in order to overcome international isolation, may be seeking new markets in South Asia and in exchange facilitating the repatriation of citizens detained at the front.

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