A 22-year-old Indian national, Majoti Sahil Mohamed Hussein, allegedly fighting for the Russian military, has been captured by Ukrainian forces, according to news agency PTI. Ukrainian military officials said Majoti Sahil Mohamed Hussein, a native of Morbi in Gujarat, surrendered to the 63rd Mechanised Brigade after just three days on the battlefield.

According to sources cited by ANI, the Indian Mission in Kiev is ascertaining the veracity of the reports. It has not yet received any formal communication from the Ukrainian side in this regard.

UKRAINE SAYS HE JOINED WAR TO AVOID PRISON SENTENCE

The Ukrainian military in its Telegram post alleged that Hussein had initially gone to Russia to study but was later arrested on drug-related charges and sentenced to seven years in prison.

“To avoid going to prison, he went to war,” the brigade said in a statement.

A video released by the brigade, now circulating on social media, shows Hussein speaking in Russian and admitting he had joined the Russian army to avoid a prison sentence.

“I didn’t want to stay in prison, so I signed a contract for the ‘special military operation’,” he says in the clip, using Moscow’s term for its invasion of Ukraine. “But I wanted to get out of there.”

In the same video, Hussein recounts that he received just 16 days of basic training before being sent to the front lines on October 1. After a disagreement with his commander, he says he decided to surrender. “I came across a Ukrainian trench position about two or three kilometres away,” he recalls. “I immediately put down my rifle and said I didn’t want to fight. I needed help,” he added as quoted by PTI.

Hussein, who claims he never received the money promised to him, also said he does not want to return to Russia. “There is no truth there, nothing. I’d rather go to prison here (in Ukraine),” he said.

There have been reports that Indian nationals — some of them students or migrant workers — have been recruited, coerced, or misled into serving with Russian forces.

Last month, the MEA confirmed that India had pressed Moscow to release and repatriate 27 Indians currently serving with the Russian military. Official data says more than 150 Indians have been recruited since the war began in 2022.

The issue was also raised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Russia last year as well.

So far, at least 12 Indians have been killed in the conflict, 96 discharged by Russian authorities, and 16 remain missing.

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With inputs from agenices