Just a few days after the Ministry of External Affairs shared that 27 Indians are still serving in the Russian Army and that the government is taking steps to get them out, an Indian youth is reported to have surrendered to Ukrainian military. As the war continues, many foreigners have inducted in the Russian Army.
And now, reports of an Indian man in his early 20s surrendering to the Ukraine Army have emerged. In a recent frontline development in the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukraine’s 63rd Mechanised Brigade reported the surrender of an Indian national who had been fighting on the Russian side.
A video released by the brigade on its Telegram channel features the individual, who identified himself as Majoti Sahil Mohamed Hussein, a 22-year-old from Morbi, Gujarat. The footage shows Hussein speaking in Russian, explaining how he came to be on the battlefield, and why he surrendered to Ukrainian forces.
Indian in Russian Army: How Hussein ended up in the Russian military?
According to Hussein’s own account, he had initially travelled to Russia for higher education. However, he claimed to have been sentenced to seven years in prison on drug-related charges. Facing incarceration, he said he was offered a way out by signing a contract with the Russian military to join the war effort in Ukraine.
“I didn’t want to stay in prison, so I signed a contract for the special military operation (Russia’s term for its invasion of Ukraine). But I wanted to get out of there,” he says in the video.
This tactic is part of a growing trend of coerced or incentivised recruitment used by Russian forces, particularly targeting foreign nationals caught in legal or financial distress.
Did Hussein have any combat experience before surrendering?
Hussein said he received just 16 days of military training before being deployed to the frontlines on October 1, 2025. He described his first combat mission as lasting three days. After a dispute with his commanding officer, Hussein reportedly walked towards Ukrainian positions, where he laid down his weapon and requested help.
“I didn’t want to fight,” he said in the video. “I don’t want to go back to Russia.”
How has Ukraine framed the surrender?
The 63rd Mechanised Brigade stated that Hussein voluntarily shared his story after being taken into custody. In its Telegram post, the brigade said, “He studied in Russia, but got caught with drugs. And in order not to go to prison, he went to war.” They also accused Russian forces of continuing to “actively recruit foreigners into their army,” a practice Ukraine has repeatedly condemned as a violation of international humanitarian norms.
There has been no immediate response from Indian authorities regarding Hussein’s surrender. Sources familiar with the matter said the Indian embassy in Kyiv is verifying the authenticity of the video but has not received formal communication from Ukrainian officials.
However, the issue of Indians serving in the Russian armed forces is not new. Last month, the MEA urged Russia to release and repatriate 27 Indian nationals still serving in its military. India has raised concerns over its citizens being misled or coerced into enlisting, particularly under the guise of non-combat job offers.
How widespread is the recruitment of Indians into the Russian military?
Official figures indicate that over 150 Indians have been recruited into the Russian military, at least 12 have died while fighting in Ukraine, 96 have been discharged and returned, 16 remain unaccounted for.
Despite Moscow’s claims that it stopped recruiting Indian nationals in April 2024, the continued appearance of Indian fighters, such as Hussein, suggests that recruitment pipelines remain active or inadequately regulated.
Another Indian missing in war zone?
Amid reports of Hussein’s surrender, it has also emerged that the whereabouts of a 21-year-old Ludhiana youth – Samarjeet Singh – remain unknown. He has been missing for “nearly a month after he was sent to the frontline with weapons to fight the war”, The Indian Express reported.
Worth noting here is that many men from Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and other states are allegedly “deceivingly recruited in Russian Army” for the war with Ukraine. One such recruitee is 25-year-old Buta Singh, hailing from Punjab’s Moga district. At present, he is admitted in a hospital near Moscow after he was injured in the war.
Singh told The Indian Express that Samarjeet’s condition and location remain unknown for nearly a month now.