India uncovered a major human trafficking network to send people to war in Ukraine on the side of Russian Federation

About 35 Indian nationals have been sent to Russia to fight in the war in Ukraine on the side of the Russian Federation. This was reported by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Reuters reported .

As the agency notes, the Indian Foreign Ministry had earlier had information about 20 of its citizens who were lured by the Russians to participate in the military conflict. It is indicated that among these Indian citizens there are dead.

At least two men, who travelled to Russia in the hope of working as "helpers" in the army, have died in the fighting on the frontline. The Indian embassy in Russia has confirmed one of these deaths," the agency noted.

Journalists found out that the Russians had set up an entire recruitment network in several states in India. They sought out people for recruitment through social media and local agents. At the same time, some men were offered admission to "dubious private universities" in Russia, as well as "free visa extensions" to attract them.

The trafficked Indian nationals, after arriving in Russia, were trained in combat operations and sent to forward bases in the Russia-Ukraine conflict zone against their will, the CBI said, adding that some of them were "seriously injured" in the combat zone.

The CBI said the Russian agents were operating in the capital New Delhi and India's financial capital Mumbai. Cash worth 50 million rupees ($605,000) was seized from them, along with some documents and electronic records.

Meanwhile, a video circulated online in which seven men appealed to the Indian government for help to return them home, saying they had travelled to Russia on tourist visas but were now forced to serve in the Russian army.

Meanwhile, Telegram channel Kremlin Snuff writes that the presence of Indian nationals in the ranks of the occupying Russian troops has caused a conflict between the Russian MIL and the Russian Defence Ministry.

Sergei Lavrov is on the verge of hysterics demanding that the Defence Ministry do everything to make sure that the Indians return home, but Sergei Shoigu is against it," the TG channel writes.

In particular, the Russian Defence Ministry believes that by sending the Indians back home, Russia will set a bad example to other foreign mercenaries, and it will become more difficult to get new ones. Another reason for Shoigu's reluctance to send Indian citizens home is that there are many dead among them.

Interlocutors in military circles hint that the refusal to return Indian citizens is due to the fact that the actual number of Indian deaths at the front is much higher than official statistics say. Unofficially, at least 53 Indian nationals have been confirmed dead and at least a hundred more have been injured," the informants point out to TG-Channel.