7 Indian tourists arrested in Russia, allegedly forced to fight Ukraine war

A video has surfaced on internet in which 7 Indian men are seen making an appeal to Indian government for release claiming they have been tricked into fighting the war against Ukraine.

The video that was widely shared on X, comes days after EAM Jaishankar said India is trying for an early release of 20 Indians stranded in Russia.

In the 1 minute 45 second clip, the men seen to be wearing army-style winter jackets with hoods and are standing inside room with locked windows.

With six men standing on one side, the seventh is seen recording the message where he made the appeal for help.

According to NDTV, the man recording the video is identified as 19-year-old Harsh from Haryana's Karnal. In the video, the man speaks of his ordeal saying that they came to visit Russia as tourists for the New Year on December 27 and met an agent who helped them visit different places. 

“He offered to take us to Belarus unaware of the fact that we would need a visa for entering the country. After arriving in Belarus, we gave money to him, but he demanded more money. He abandoned us on a highway as we didn’t have the money to pay him,” one of the men can be heard saying in Hindi in the video.

Harsh alleged they were left stranded after which the Russian police caught them and handed them over to the army where they made them sign a document.

Some of the men apparently went to Russia in search of employment opportunities. The families of the stranded people have made an appeal to the government for their safe and early release.

Reportedly, 10 Indians - from Karnataka, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh - have found themselves in similar distressing situations where they went to Russia in search of jobs as security guards or laborers but ended up in this unfortunate scenario.

Earlier, External Affairs Ministry had said it is in touch with people who have been trapped similarly, among whom is Azad Yousf Kumar, a 31-year-old man from Jammu and Kashmir who was reportedly shot in the foot while in a combat situation.

Meanwhile, a government spokesperson advised all Indians to stay away from the war-torn regions.