UKRAINE – The Indian foreign ministry said it had urged the Russian authorities to repatriate the bodies of the two deceased. Dozens of Indians have reportedly been duped by agents into fighting for Russian forces with the lure of money and a Russian passport. The BBC has spoken to some of them.

We regret to state that two Indian nationals who had been recruited by the Russian Army have recently been killed in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” the foreign ministry statement said, without naming the victims.The ministry also urged Indian nationals to “exercise caution while seeking employment opportunities in Russia”.

In May Indian police arrested four people allegedly linked to a network of human traffickers on suspicion of luring young men to Russia with the promise of jobs or education, only to force them to fight in Ukraine. Despite urging Russia to return Indian nationals serving in the Russian army, India has refused to condemn the Kremlin over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, urging the two sides to seek peace through dialogue and diplomacy.Meanwhile Nepal and Sri Lanka have warned their citizens not to be lured in by the false promises of human traffickers in recent months, after it emerged that hundreds of their nationals were taking part in the war as mercenaries. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry raised the issue with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Monday, the ministry said.  (BBC) …[+]