The process of releasing about 70 Indians serving in the Russian army is still stuck. The contract is being cited as the reason behind this. Actually, the Russian authorities have not canceled their military service contract. People associated with the matter gave this information on Saturday. At least 9 Indians have died while fighting in the war with Ukraine. After this, the issue of releasing and sending Indian citizens working as support staff in Russian military units to India has become sensitive.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the issue during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in July. Since then, the matter has been taken up through diplomatic channels between New Delhi and Moscow. Sources said the main reason for the delay in the release of the 70 Indians is that the Russian Defence Ministry has not yet taken the necessary steps to cancel their military service contracts. The Indian government is in constant touch with the Russian authorities on the issue and efforts are being made to resolve the problem.
“The Russian Defence Ministry would have to issue an act to cancel these contracts, and that hasn’t happened yet,” sources said. Another source said the delay on the part of the Russian Defence Ministry could be because of apprehensions about the impact such a cancellation would have on contracts signed by citizens of other countries. According to information provided by the government in recent weeks, a total of 91 Indians were recruited in the Russian army and 15 of them have been released and sent back to India. Currently, 68 Indians are awaiting release from the Russian army.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had hinted at a contract problem while speaking in the Lok Sabha on August 9. “The problem is that the Russian authorities believe that these Indian citizens had signed contracts to serve with the Russian army. We do not necessarily agree with that,” he said. Jaishankar said the Indian side takes the matter very seriously and PM Modi has received assurances from Putin that any Indian citizen serving in the Russian army will be deported.
A day after Jaishankar’s statement in Parliament, the Russian embassy in New Delhi said the recruitment of Indian citizens in the Russian armed forces was halted in April this year and authorities were working towards the earliest discharge of those Indians who had “voluntarily entered into military service”, Russia said. The embassy also offered condolences to the families of the deceased and said all contractual obligations and compensation payments “will be fully fulfilled”.
The Indian side has also said that many Indians recruited in the Russian military were “misled” or deceived by unscrupulous recruitment agents. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a criminal case against 19 individuals and entities for their alleged role in recruiting Indians and has made several arrests.
