Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s request on a major issue. When PM Modi reached Moscow on Monday (July 8, 2024), he raised the issue of Indian citizens recruited in the Russian Army before Putin and Russia largely agreed to send back the Indians. Top sources said on Tuesday (July 9, 2024) that Russia has broadly agreed to India’s request to stop recruiting Indians as support personnel in its army and ensure the return home of working Indians. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to Russia.
Sources said on Tuesday that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Had raised this issue during an informal meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday night. He said that Moscow’s decision to discharge all Indians working as support staff in the Russian Army is expected to be announced after the summit between PM Modi and Putin on Tuesday.
Sources said that Russia has broadly agreed to our request on this issue. Last month, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said that two more Indian citizens serving in the Russian Army have been killed in the Russia-Ukraine war. With this, the number of Indian citizens who lost their lives in the Russia-Ukraine war, who are working as support personnel in the Russian Army, has increased to four.
Following the death of two more Indians, India had demanded a verifiable ban on recruitment of Indian citizens into the Russian army. The Ministry of External Affairs had also said that the issue of Indian citizens serving in the Russian Army remains a matter of utmost concern. He had demanded action from Moscow in this regard.
In March this year, 30-year-old Mohammad Asfan, a resident of Hyderabad, died due to injuries sustained while deployed with Russian soldiers on the frontline in the Ukraine war. Earlier in February, 23-year-old Hemal Ashwinbhai Mangua, a resident of Surat, was hit by a Ukrainian airstrike while deployed as a security assistant in the Donetsk region, due to which he died.