New Delhi: An Indian man from Kerala who had made several pleas to return in the past few months has died in the Russia and Ukraine war frontlines, Indian Express has reported.
The report identified the deceased as 32-year-old Binil T.B., a resident of Wadakkanchery in Kerala’s Thrissur district. Binil’s relative, 27-year-old Jain T.K. was injured in the same attack.
The report said that a few days ago, Binil’s family received a message that the two men were injured in an attack from a drone. The family could not establish contact with either Binil or Jain.
A relative told the paper that Binil’s wife Joicy learnt of the situation after getting in touch with the Indian Embassy in Moscow.
The report mentions that for the last few months, “Binil and Jain T K had been desperately trying to get home” and that Binil spoke to The Indian Express in a series of voice messages just last month.
“Binil had stated they had been unsuccessfully knocking on the doors of the Indian embassy in Moscow since September in an attempt to get back home,” the report said.
“Mentally and physically, we are exhausted,” the report quoted Binil as having said.
The report noted that in his last message, Binil said they are forced to move to the frontlines of the war.
“We are now in difficult terrain in the Russia-occupied territory of Ukraine. Our commander says that the contract was for a year. We have been pleading with local commanders for our release. The Indian Embassy is of the view that unless the Russian army relieves us, they cannot help. The Embassy says we should be taken back to Russian territory,’’ he was quoted as having said in the report.
The Ministry of External Affairs is yet to respond to the incident.
In a parliament reply on December 6, 2024, the MEA said that so far 10 people have died in Russia. Among them, two each are from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat; one each from Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Kerala and Odisha.
This is likely to be the 11th such death.
In July last year, after prime minister Narendra Modi claimed to have raised the situation of Indians fighting in the Russian army with president Vladimir Putin, Russia promised an early release of all such Indians fighting in its army, the MEA had said.
In August, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said in parliament that the government does not endorse Russia’s claim that Indians knowingly entered into contracts with the Russian army. In response, Russia’s embassy said that Moscow has not been involved in any recruitment efforts, especially in “fraudulent schemes”, to enlist Indian citizens for military service.
It also claimed that the Russian ministry of defence had since April 2024 “stopped admission of citizens of a number of foreign countries, including India, to military service in the Russian Armed Forces”.
