’Bullets fire in our legs if we protested’: Telangana man recalls harrowing days at Russia-Ukraine border

A youth from Narayanpet in Telangana said "he was afraid" for his life as he recalled the time he spent at the Russia-Ukraine war front. "I am not afraid of dying anymore," he said.

Mohammed Sufiyan, who recently returned to India from Russia, told the Indian Express that some youths once refused to work on the frontlines after Hemil Mangukiya from Gujarat was killed in a drone strike in February along with 23 Russian soldiers.

"As a punishment, the officer in-charge there made us dig a trench and forced us to spend the night in it in freezing temperatures, without food and only a couple of bottles of water," Sufiyan said.

"We had been digging trenches, reloading guns, and lobbing grenades but we refused to do it anymore," he added.

'Job as a security guard'

Sufiyan said he was convinced by an employment agent that he was applying for a job as a security guard at a Russian government office in Moscow or a helper at a government office, Indian Express reported.

He recalled that when he had landed in Russia, he, among others, were given a document in Russian to sign on. "We were told it was a contract with the Russian government to work for a year for a salary of ₹1 lakh per month. However, a day later, we were taken to an army camp and told to start physical training and learn how to fire rifles," he said.

Sufiyan said the new recruits were made to fire AK17 and AK74 rifles as part of the training. "Then we were given two weeks of sniper rifle training. If anyone dared protest, officers fired bullets to the right and left of our legs," he added.

He said, "...we were taken to the Russian border with Ukraine, and from there we advanced into Ukraine territory that Russia had taken over."

'Inhuman condition'

Sufiyan said the conditions were inhuman at the Russia-Ukrine war front. "We were woken up at 6 am every day and made to work 15 hours straight with no rest or sleep," he was quoted by the Times of India as saying.

"...Our hands were blistered, our backs ached and our spirits were broken. Yet, if we showed any signs of exhaustion, bullets were fired at us to force us back into the laborious tasks," Sufiyan said in a trembling voice.

Sufian was reportedly among the six Indians enlisted with the Russian Army who were released from their camps on Russia-Ukraine border ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Vladimir Putin during the BRICS summit in Kazan next month.

The Ministry of External Affairs said on September 12 that a total of 45 Indian citizens have been discharged from the Russian army. "Out of these, as you might know, six people returned to India two days ago, and the Indian Embassy facilitated their return. There are others who are expected to come back in the coming days," the ministry said.