Indians are being tricked into fighting for Russia with promises of work in Dubai

One victim flew to the UAE in hopes of working for a consultancy. Instead, he was shipped off to a military base in Russia and given weapons training

Others have told of being forced to fight for Russian forces after having been sent to the country as ‘army security helpers’

Reading Time:2 minutes

Russian soldiers fire from a helicopter during a patrol of the Black Sea in this still taken from a video released by the Russian Defence Ministry earlier this year. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP

Published: 2:02pm, 4 Mar 2024

Some Indian nationals are being tricked into fighting for the Russian army after having been promised jobs in Dubai, according to reports.

About 20 Indians are thought to have fallen victim to similar schemes and are now caught on the front lines in Russia.

One victim, Aazad Yousuf Kumar, 31, a science graduate, travelled from his home in northern India to Dubai in the hopes of working for an employment consultancy named Baba Vlogs, which is run by a man named Faisal Khan.

The landmark Burj Khalifa skyscraper, the world’s tallest building, towers above the Dubai skyline last month. Photo: AFP

Kumar’s mother told The Telegraph newspaper in the UK that after he arrived in the United Arab Emirates, he was told there were no jobs available and that he would have to go to Russia to do kitchen work.

But she said he was then brought to a military base where he was given weapons training.

“We lost touch with him for a while. When he finally phoned after about 20 days, he told us that he had been tricked and taken to an unknown place in Russia, where he had received weapons training for a fortnight, along with a dozen other Indians,” his brother, Sajad Ahmad Kumar, told France’s Le Monde.

“He was deployed near the front line with the Russian army. I spoke to him on December 26. He cried constantly. He told me he wanted to come home,” he added.