Four Telangana men stranded on Russian battlefield (Image credit: Times of India)
Hyderabad: Russian citizenship and one-year service contracts with Russia’s defence ministry signed by three men from erstwhile Nizamabad district could stand in the way of efforts to bring them home.
The three men – 44-year-old Sirshu Ashok, 41-year-old Megavath Prakash and 43-year-old Mohammed Afzal Khan – went to Russia early this year for what their families said were civilian jobs. They later ended up linked to the Russian military.
According to a report in The Times of India, travel records, citizenship papers and service agreements show that at least two of the men became Russian citizens within months of arriving and signed one-year contracts with the defence ministry. Ashok and Prakash also signed notarised declarations renouncing their Indian citizenship.
Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) were quoted as telling TOI that the acquisition of Russian citizenship could complicate diplomatic intervention and repatriation.
The families maintain that the men did not understand what they were signing.
Prakash, a native of Dammannapet village in Dharpally mandal, was issued a Russian internal passport by authorities in the Ulyanovsk region on August 31. The same day, he reportedly signed a one-year contract with the defence ministry as a private, the lowest enlisted rank in the Russian army.
The agreement, executed through a military recruitment point in Ulyanovsk, required him to follow the military oath and take part in operations, including during armed conflict and outside Russian territory.
A day later, on September 1, he signed a notarised declaration giving up Indian citizenship. The document records that its legal consequences were explained to him.
His wife, Megavath Sunitha, has said in a police complaint that Prakash worked for a private company for about four months before it shut down. Agents, including Gourav Chaudhary, Krishna and Yellaiah, then offered him other work and arranged his recruitment into the army, she alleged.
According to the complaint, the family paid Rs 2.4 lakh for travel and visa expenses and another Rs 50,000 for the alternative job.
Afzal Khan of Tadkole village in Banswada mandal entered Russia on February 16 on an employment visa that named Pondera Industry LLC as the inviting organisation. He got social security registration the next day.
By August 31, he too had a Russian internal passport from Ulyanovsk, and his records indicate a one-year defence ministry contract around the same time.
A document dated September 2, addressed to the commander of military unit 01007, seeks a one-time payment of 4 lakh roubles linked to his service under a presidential decree. It also carries repayment clauses in case the contract is ended early. The papers do not show whether the money was paid, TOI reported.
His wife, Jameela Begum, said he had gone to Russia for work, leaving behind their son and daughter.
Ashok of Pedda Walgot village in Sirikonda mandal arrived on the same day as Khan on a visa linked to the same company. He was issued a Russian passport on July 11 and signed a declaration renouncing Indian citizenship on September 1. His registered address is also in Ulyanovsk.
His wife, Sarita, alleged that agents cheated him and said he had repeatedly asked for help to return.
Russia offers a simplified citizenship process to foreigners who sign military contracts of at least one year. Under Decree No 10, signed by President Vladimir Putin on January 4, 2024, foreigners serving at least a year during the “special military operation” can apply for fast-track citizenship, along with their spouses, children and parents.
The documents surfaced days after the MEA warned against the practice. In a fresh advisory on September 30, the ministry said it had come across numerous instances of people approaching Indian authorities to give up their citizenship, obtain a Russian passport and then join the Russian armed forces.
It said some Indians had sought recruitment after being drawn by monetary benefits, believing they could later approach the Indian government to secure their release. The advisory also flagged recruitment by non-public entities, including voluntary groups, and asked people to exercise due diligence before accepting job offers from agents not registered with the MEA.
The ministry said it remained engaged with the Russian side to ensure the safety, well-being and early discharge of all Indian nationals in the Russian armed forces.
The three are among at least 16 men from Nizamabad, Kamareddy and Rajanna Sircilla districts who were caught up in the recruitment. Three of them, Gaddam Shekar of Banda Lingapur, Kauda Rajashekar of Keshapur and Kasturi Thirupathi of Darpally, have returned.
Nizamabad police have arrested an agent, identified as Gaurav, for allegedly sending four of the men to Russia.
On September 29, Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar seeking the return of all 16. The same day, families of four men approached the Chief Minister’s Prajavani grievance cell in Hyderabad, where officials directed the NRI wing to take up the matter with the MEA and the Indian Embassy in Moscow.
Families had earlier submitted an advertisement from “Pondera Co” offering general and mechanical helper jobs in Russia at about Rs 42,000 a month, with free food and no Russian language test.
Nizamabad Rural MLA R Bhupathi Reddy had also petitioned Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on September 25, seeking help in tracing the men.
Earlier cases from Telangana followed a similar pattern. Mohammed Asfan, 30, of Bazarghat in Hyderabad, who was recruited with the promise of a helper’s job, died of injuries sustained near the frontline in March 2024. Mohammed Sufiyan of Narayanpet was among a group of Indian recruits who released video appeals from the conflict zone the same year.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had in March 2024 registered cases against visa consultancy firms and agents in several cities for running a trafficking network that lured young men to Russia with promises of non-combat jobs.
This post was last modified on October 7, 2026 6:24 pm