VISAKHAPATNAM: Five youths from Visakhapatnam, who travelled to Russia in search of employment, have allegedly been forced into the Russian military after being promised jobs in food packing.
Three of them have been sent to the Russia-Ukraine war zone, while the whereabouts of the other two remain unknown. One of the youths has released a video appealing to the Indian government and the Indian Embassy to intervene and bring them back home.
He has also appealed to Prime Minister Modi to ensure their safe return. The youth in the video has been identified as Jettu Vamsi (19), a resident of JN Number Colony in Duvvada. Another youth is identified as Satish. The remaining three are from Chodavaram (two) and Gajuwaka (one).
In the video, Vamsi said the five had travelled to Russia for work. While working there, they met a person from Nepal who promised them jobs in food packing for the Russian army and helped them join.
Lokesh issues orders to officials to take steps to rescue Vizag youths stranded in Russia
However, after joining, they realised that they were being sent towards the Russia-Ukraine border.
He alleged that they were made to sign documents written in Russian without understanding their contents. He also claimed that they were not informed about being granted Russian citizenship. When they questioned their status, they were told that they were no longer Indian citizens and had become Russian citizens.
“We want our Indian citizenship and do not want Russian citizenship. Had we known about this, we would not have agreed to it,” he said. Vamsi further said they were being sent to the front lines and expressed fear for their lives. He said the video could be their last message.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh responded to the video on X and directed his office to intervene with the concerned authorities. “Heartbreaking to see the plight of our citizens stranded abroad. (@OfficeofNL), request your urgent intervention with the concerned authorities to assist them and ensure their safe and speedy return back home,” he posted.
Speaking to the media, Vamsi’s mother, Jettu Appala Konda, said her son had gone to Russia for a job but was allegedly taken into the army after meeting a person from Nepal.
“My son is crying out to me, saying, ‘Mother, save me’. I request Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and Minister Nara Lokesh to bring my son back to us.
We do not want anything more than that,” she said. She said five youths had initially left the area, but the family did not know who had taken them. While Vamsi and Satish were known to be there, the family had no information about the whereabouts of the other three, identified as Rajubabu, Nagaraju and Pradeep.
A neighbour of Appala Konda said Vamsi had initially been promised a food-packing job in Russia.
After reaching there, he was told that the work had been temporarily stopped for three days and that he would be given small tasks until it resumed. The neighbour alleged that the youths were later lured with promises of a monthly salary of Rs 90,000 in Russia and Rs 2 lakh in Ukraine before being forced into military service.
The neighbour said the youths knew only Telugu, had basic schooling and had no knowledge of handling guns or other weapons.