The embassy did not elaborate on the circumstances of Mohammed Afsan’s death, except to say that it is in contact with the man’s family and the Russian authorities.
“The mission will make efforts to send his mortal remains to India,” the embassy assured on platform “X”.
Afsan’s brother, Mohammed Imran, told AFP in February that there had been no news from his brother for two months.
Afsan last called from Rostov-on-Don and said he was being sent to the front, Imran said.
Another Indian soldier who managed to escape told his family that 30-year-old Afsan was injured by a bullet.
Afsan’s death is the first confirmed death of an Indian citizen in the ranks of the Russian army by Indian authorities and one of a total of two confirmed such deaths.
A 23-year-old man from the state of Gujarat who was a “security aide” was killed in a Ukrainian airstrike, local media reported last month, citing his family and another Indian soldier in the frontline area.
India said a week ago that it was working to get about 20 Indian citizens “stuck” in the Russian army retired from Moscow’s armed forces.
Several Indians recruited into the Russian army told the AFP news agency last month that they were lured into the Russian army with promises of high pay and Russian passports and sent to the front.
According to analysts, Russia’s efforts to recruit Indians are only a small part of Russia’s global recruitment operation, which is being carried out in parallel with a broad campaign in the country itself.
2024-03-07 09:41:09
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