Stating that it is “unacceptable that Indian citizens find themselves” being recruited by the Russian Army amid the country’s war on Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday that he had raised the issue with Moscow, ANI reported.

Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana.

He said he had “very clearly and strongly” raised with Lavrov the issue of Indians being stranded in the war zone.

The minister’s statement came against the backdrop of at least three Indians being killed amid the conflict so far.

On June 11, the Ministry of External Affairs stated that two Indians who had been recruited by the Russian Army had been killed. One of them was identified as 29-year-old Tejpal Singh, who was a resident of Punjab’s Amritsar, according to The Hindu.

On February 24, The Hindu reported that a 23-year-old man from Gujarat who was hired as an “army security helper” in Russia was allegedly killed in a Ukrainian air strike in Donetsk close to the Russia-Ukraine border. On March 6, reports emerged that a Hyderabad man who was allegedly forced to fight alongside the Russian military was killed in Russia.

Dozens of Indians stranded in Russia have sought the government’s help for returning home.

On Thursday, Jaishankar said that several Indians had been pressed into services with the Russian Army.

“Only when they come back we will know the full circumstances,” he said. “But, whatever the circumstances are, to us it is unacceptable that Indian citizens find themselves in the army of another country in a war zone.”

He said that he told Lavrov that New Delhi was seeking Russia’s cooperation as a “friend and partner” to find a way for the quick repatriation of the Indian citizens.

“He appreciated the point,” ANI quoted Jaishankar as saying. “The foreign ministry has been speaking to the Russian defence ministry in this regard. I urged him that we need a much stronger follow-up.”

Jaishankar said he intends to follow the matter “until all our people there come back”.

Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, triggering the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

After the war broke out, at least 500 Indians, including some veterans, had reportedly submitted applications to volunteer to join the International Legion created to fight Russian forces in Ukraine.

In February, media reports claimed that several Indians hired as “army security helpers” in Russia had instead been forced to fight alongside the Russian military. Nearly 100 Indians have been recruited by the Russian military over the past year, The Hindu reported on February 20.

This was the first time that the involvement of Indians in combat roles on the Russian side had been reported.

The External Affairs Ministry said on February 26 that several Indians had already been discharged from the Russian Army as a result of the government having taken up with Moscow the cases of Indian nationals seeking their release.

In late February, the ministry said that at least 20 Indian nationals are still stranded in Russia.

The Central Bureau of Investigation filed a first information report naming nineteen entities – 15 individuals and four companies – for their alleged role in the “trafficking of gullible Indian nationals to Russia and duping them for better employment and high-paying jobs”.

Also read: ‘Get me out’: After voice mail, Indian mother waits to hear from son duped into fighting in Ukraine