The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Several Indian men who were sent to the frontlines on the Ukraine-Russia border after being fraudulently enlisted in the Russian army are still missing.
According to a communication from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) with the family members of two missing persons, at least 15 Indians are still missing, reported The Hindu.
One of the missing men is Zahoor Sheikh (27), whose father Mohammad Amin Sheikh (65), a resident of Kupwara in Tangdhar in Jammu and Kashmir, said that Zahoor had last spoken with the family on December 31, 2023.
“He said that he was going for training and would not be available for the next three months on phone. But when we started getting news about the deaths of Indians in Russia in January, we got worried and called on his number. We could not reach him. We are yet to hear from him,” said Sheikh, a retired government officer.
“We submitted a petition at the Russian Embassy. They said they are looking into the matter. The MEA officials said that at least 15 Indians are still missing and though the Russian government is cooperative, their commanders on the ground are not responsive,” said Aijaz Amin (31), Zahoor’s older brother.
He added that Zahoor had travelled to Russia after he came across a YouTube video that promised the job of a security helper in Russia but he was subsequently deceived into joining the Russian Army.
A similar case is of Mandeep (30), a resident of Jalandhar in Punjab with whom his family members last spoke on March 3.
“We last spoke on March 3. He initially went to Armenia and was supposed to go to Italy from there in search of work. Instead, he was tricked by an agent to go to Russia and was forced to join the Russian Army. He was sent to the war zone after a few days of training,” said his brother Jagdeep Kumar.