Moscow: Indians are dying in the Russia-Ukraine war.. A selfie video taken by an Indian-origin pro-Russian soldier saying he is not ready to fight for Russia is going viral.
Mohammed Ahmed had travelled to Russia from Telangana in April with the hope of getting a job in the construction sector. But, within weeks of arriving, he found himself caught in the middle of the Russia-Ukraine war, allegedly forced to fight in the Russian army after being duped by his employment agent.
Now his wife, a Hyderabad resident, Afsha Begum, has appealed to the Ministry of External Affairs to help rescue 37-year-old Ahmed, who is stuck in Russia. She says he has been trapped in Russia and forced to undergo combat training.
Letter to Jaishankar
In this regard, his wife Afsha Begum has also written to Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in which she said that a Mumbai-based employment consultancy had duped her husband into joining the Russian army by promising him a job in a Russian construction company.
Her husband was made to sit idle for about a month and then, along with 30 other people, he was shifted to a remote area and forcibly given weapons training. After the training, 26 of them were taken to the border area to fight against the Ukrainian army.
While being taken to the border area, Ahmed jumped out of the army vehicle. This caused a fracture in his right leg. He refused to fight. "But they are threatening to kill us if we don't fight the Ukrainian army," she alleged.
Afsha Begum urged the government to rescue her husband and bring him back home immediately. She lamented that she is the only supporter of her husband, which includes his paralysed mother, herself and their two children aged 10 and four.
Ahmed's video goes viral
In a selfie video recorded by Ahmed, who is said to be in Russia, Ahmed has revealed his plight. He said that his group of 25 people were brought for the war in Russia-Ukraine. Of these, 17 people, including an Indian, have died.