Kapurthala: Thrown into the Russia-Ukraine war zone, Rakesh Yadav was all but clueless. The 24-year-old youth from Uttar Pradesh struggled to figure out where and whom to shoot as a barrage of missiles rained on him and fellow Indians, all forcefully indicted into the Russian army.
Rakesh had a close shave with death as he recalls the horrors of the battlefield upon his lucky escape. According to Yadav, one of his companions was killed in a drone attack by Ukraine. “My life was saved because I jumped into the bunker built there as soon as I saw the drone,” he added.
According to Yadav, one of his companions was killed in a drone attack by Ukraine. “My life was saved because I jumped into the bunker built there as soon as I saw the drone,” he added.
Similarly, referring to another incident, he said that on June 17 one of his colleagues died in a grenade explosion there; however, the Russian authorities shared the news of his death with his family only after six months.
Narrating his ordeal, Yadav explained that a travel agent had called him and five other companions eight months ago to work as home guards in Russia. “But as soon as they reached there (Russia), we were forcibly recruited into the Russian army and were made to sign a document in the Russian language. I was beaten up there on repeated refusals. After fifteen days of weapon training, I was thrown into the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. The situation there was very bad in this ongoing war,’’ he said.
The youth further said that his hand was also injured in the bomb blast there. Rakesh claimed that more than 25 youth from India are still stuck fighting in the war.
During his visit to Sultanpur Lodhi to meet Rajya Sabha member Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, who raised the issue with the union external affairs ministry for Yadav’s release.
Cheated by agent
Narrating his ordeal, Rakesh said he, along with five others, who were looking for security guards’ jobs, Had been tricked by an agent eight months ago. He said that the agent promised the same job for Rs 2 lakh. “I thought of supporting my family with the sum of money, which sounded huge,” he said.
As soon as he landed, I was forcibly inducted into the Russian army and asked to sign a document in Russian. When he refused to do so, he was beaten there.
Tried killing self
Bullied to the hilt, Rakesh even tried ending his life two to three times, seeing no hope of homecoming. “After giving weapons training, Russian army instructors were forced to ride military vehicles loaded with bombs and missiles. We had no option but to go to the battlefield and fire at enemies. We were told that if we can go to India once we survive. We were given sophisticated weapons, especially AK-12 guns,” he said.
Rakesh said after 15 days of weapons training, he was thrown into the war zone. “I was very nervous and did not know where the missile was coming from or who should be shot. I was perplexed and at a loss to figure out who were Russians and who were Ukrainians, as the geography and terrain were completely different,” he added.
The ex-soldier said the weapons of Indian recruits were seized once they mistakenly fired at the Russians.
Rakesh has demanded strict action against the cheating agents. According to him, two of his friends, Sunil and Shyam Sundar, had died in the Russia-Ukraine war. “Their bodies were brought to India. I don’t know if their families got compensation,” he further said.
He said agents, who had access to code numbers, opened their bank accounts in Russia. “The agent knew the code number of all of us. He kept a copy of our passport with him. Whenever our salaries were deposited, the agent used to withdraw it,” Rakesh said.
He admitted living a hell of a life during nine months in Russia.
“I am grateful to MP Balbir Singh Seechewal, without whose help I would not have returned home. I want to appeal to the government to take a serious view on these touts who lure poor youths from India with promising jobs in dangerous places like the Russia-Ukraine war zone,” he signed off.
Yadav typifies the ill fate of youths from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, who either returned alive or had their bodies wrapped in coffins flown to home states from Russia months after being forced into military services.
Travel agents not only cheated them but also stole their salaries by accessing their bank OTPs while they were on the battlefield, where phone networks were a rare thing. Most of the victims, lured by the promise of high-paying jobs in the Russian food packaging industry and as home guards, were recruited into the Russian army shortly after arriving in the country.
The victims said that they were enticed by travel agents who assured them that Russia had an urgent demand for labor due to the ongoing war.