Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop using hoodwinked Indian nationals as cannon fodder for his brutal invasion of Ukraine, the feat occurring at a private dinner the two attended Monday night.
The Russian government said on Tuesday that several dozen Indians will be discharged from the Russian military and allowed to return home.
The story of Indians tricked into fighting for Russia in Ukraine grew into a major scandal in 2024 and became a political embarrassment for Modi, who won a third term in office with far less support than anticipated in June.
The families of several Indian men came forward to the media in March to complain their loved ones were duped by human traffickers into leaving home for lucrative private sector jobs in the Middle East.
Instead, the men were impressed into the Russian military when their flights were “laid over” in Moscow, or they were told the promised Middle Eastern jobs were no longer available but the Russian military was hiring noncombat contract workers.
Those who accepted such “noncombat” job offers soon found themselves clutching rifles on the front lines in Ukraine. At least four of them have reportedly been killed.
The Indian opposition blasted Modi for not doing anything to help the Indians abducted into Russian military service, pointing out that India’s longstanding strategic alliance with Russia should have made for an easy phone call to Moscow. Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi slammed Russia for using Indians as “cannon fodder” and demanded government intervention after several families in his district approached him for help.
Modi never quite got around to picking up that phone, but when his office announced plans for the reelected prime minister to visit Moscow this week, it promised Modi would raise the subject of the Indian conscripts and demand their return.
Although India has maintained good diplomatic relations – and a massive oil trade – with Russia despite Western sanctions and has refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine, Modi was a bit more critical of the war during his trip to Russia than Putin might have been expecting.
Modi embraced Putin when he arrived in Moscow, the two enjoyed a quiet walk together to reinforce the impression of a lasting personal friendship, and Putin declared the “particularly privileged strategic relationship” between Russia and India to be as strong as ever.
However, Modi told Putin he was deeply troubled by civilian casualties from Russia’s massive missile bombardment of Ukrainian cities on Monday. The damage included casualties at a children’s cancer hospital in Kyiv, a national tragedy that left Ukraine in mourning and much of the world stunned with horror.
“I believe there is no peace on the battlefield and solutions to the war can only be found through dialogue,” Modi told Putin at the outset of their formal talks on Tuesday.
“Whether it is terrorism or conflict, the loss of lives – especially of innocent children – is heartbreaking. President Putin and I have spoken frankly and I want to tell the international community that is closely watching our meeting that I am filled with hope from his words and thinking,” the Indian prime minister told reporters after the meeting.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Modi’s criticism did not go far enough.
“It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day,” Zelensky said.
Indian media reported that Modi brought up the conscript issue during dinner with Putin on Monday night, and, thanks to Modi’s “direct intervention,” Putin has given orders for Indians to be discharged from Russian military service and allowed to return home.
“We expect the release to take place within weeks from various places where they are serving or deployed,” Indian government sources told the Hindu on Tuesday.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said Modi “raised this issue strongly” with Putin and made it clear that “all” Indian recruits should be returned, whether they ostensibly agreed to fight for Russia or not.
Kwatra said between 35 and 50 Indian recruits served in the Russian army under dubious circumstances, and ten of them have already returned home.
Hindu said it was “unclear” if any public announcement would be made about Putin’s order or if the conscripts would be mentioned in the joint statement produced after Modi completes his business in Moscow.
Contrary to impressions given by Modi’s office that Putin agreed to return the conscripts as a personal favor to the prime minister, the Hindu said the agreement was produced after “weeks of diplomatic discussions,” including a meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov at the SCO Summit in Kazakhstan last week.
