HYDERABAD: AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has appealed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to come to the rescue of nine Indians, including two from Telangana, who are reportedly trapped in Russia and forced to fight in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
He said that the nine stranded persons include one from Hyderabad (M Afsan), one from Narayanpet (Md Sufiyan), three from Karnataka, one each from Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh and two from Kashmir.
Addressing the media on bringing Indian workers who were forced to fight alongside Russia in the Ukraine-Russia war back to the country, the political situation in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra and the upcoming General Elections, Owaisi said that the nine Indians were duped by agents who offered them work as security guards in Russia and they are now being forced to take part in the war against Ukraine.
“Sir @DrSJaishankar, kindly use your good offices to bring these men back home. Their lives are at risk and their families are justifiably worried (sic),’’ Owaisi posted on X on Wednesday.
“They were being misguided by the Indian agents and have been forced to join the Russian Army. They have not been given training. Also, they are not in contact with the family for 25 days. Their families are very much worried about them and want them to return to India,” Owaisi said in his appeal to the minister.
He revealed that he had written to Jaishankar last month, seeking his intervention to help bring the Indians back from Russia. Last month, he wrote to the Indian Embassy in Moscow. The matter came to light when the parents of the men reached out to Owaisi, seeking his help for the return of their children.