Around 70 Indian nationals are awaiting discharge from the Russian Army after being lured to Russia to take part in the Ukraine conflict, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told the parliament on Friday.

According to Indian media reports, they were lured to the battlefront by human traffickers who offered them lucrative jobs. Moscow has been assisting New Delhi in their repatriation.

According to Jaishankar, 14 Indian nationals have already returned home, while eight died in the fighting. A total of 91 have been recruited into the Russian Army over the past nine months, he said, adding that 69 of them are still expected to be released from active duty. 

“Sufficient evidence has surfaced against ten human traffickers whose identities we know. During the investigation, two of the accused were arrested on April 24 and two more on May 7. All the four accused are presently in judicial custody,” he said. 

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation has opened a criminal case against 19 individuals and entities, according to the foreign minister. One MP asked Jaishankar if India would stop buying Russian oil if Moscow fails to take the issue of repatriation seriously. He responded by saying one “should not jump the gun” in this situation. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral summit in July. At the time, it was estimated that 35-50 Indians may be serving in the Russian military. 

“[The] prime minister got President Putin’s assurance that any Indian national who is in the service of the Russian Army will be discharged and released,” Jaishankar said, adding that the process is ongoing. In one case in which a person was deceased, the Russian authorities requested a DNA test to ensure proper identification, he noted.

In July, Russia’s deputy envoy to India, Roman Babushkin, told journalists that Moscow and New Delhi were “on the same side” with regard to repatriating Indian citizens “as quickly as possible.”  

Babushkin stressed the importance of cracking down on human traffickers and explained that the Russian military does not “lack soldiers” and does not proactively recruit foreign fighters. In May, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Moscow is not recruiting citizens of India to join the military.

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