They were promised jobs in Russia. They ended up fighting in Ukraine.

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation said last month it was aware of at least 35 Indian nationals who were trained for combat and sent to fight in Ukraine against their will after being recruited for jobs in Russia through agents or networks. social. Some of them were “severely injured,” the agency said.

The agency said it arrested 35 people suspected of being involved in human trafficking and seized about 50 million rupees ($600,000) in cash, as well as incriminating documents and electronic records in searches across the country.

India’s foreign ministry said authorities were doing their best to get the men home as quickly as possible.

“We have also told people not to venture into the war zone or get caught in difficult situations,” ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said, adding that India is in regular contact with Russian authorities in New Delhi and Moscow and is deeply committed to the “well-being of all Indians”.

India has ties to both Russia and the West and has tried to remain neutral in the Ukraine war, calling for peace talks while refraining from condemning President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. It also increased purchases of Russian oil, which are heavily discounted due to Western sanctions.

Sajad Ahmad Kumar said his brother and others are now in Russian-occupied Ukraine after crossing the Black Sea under the command of two Russian army officers.

“Things have gotten a little better for them,” he said. “He used to call from someone’s phone, but now he has his own connection.”

He said Kumar and several other Indians had approached his embassy in Moscow for help returning home, but that authorities there were “not taking things seriously.”

The Indian Embassy in Moscow did not respond to requests for comment.

At least two Indian citizens were killed while fighting alongside the Russian army on the Russian-Ukrainian border. They were identified last month as Hemil Ashvinbhai Mangukiya and Mohammad Asfan from the states of Gujarat and Telangana.

Mangukiya’s father, Ashvinbhai Mangukiya, said his son was hired as an adjutant in the Russian army.

“He was supposed to be stationed in Moscow but was forced to participate in the ongoing war between the two nations,” he said.

Mangukiya went to Russia to collect his son’s body after he was killed in the Donetsk region in February. Like others, he filed police cases against Khan and others associated with Baba Vlogs.

“Baba Vlogs is running a nexus,” he said. “The government should take notice and arrest all individuals involved in this criminal activity.”

Abdul Rouf, whose son Abdul Nayeem left for Russia in December, said he spoke to Khan and others on Baba Vlogs when Nayeem, 30, told him they had got him a similar job as an army adjutant in Russia when he approached them in Dubai .

“The employment agent assured me that I would not be given a weapon to fight in Ukraine or anywhere else,” said Rouf, a resident of the city of Gulbarga in the Indian state of Karnataka. His son has since told him he is in Ukraine and that Rouf plans to travel to Russia to try to help him.

Mohammad Mustafa, another Karnataka resident whose son is trapped in Russian-occupied Ukraine, said he was tired of waiting for news and would go to Russia himself.

“We can do anything to rescue our children,” he said.

“Two Indian citizens have already been killed and we don’t want to lose anyone else.”