Eighty-five Indians who had been inducted into the Russian Army and made to fight in the country’s war on Ukraine have been discharged, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that about 20 other Indians are yet to be released from the Russian Army, and that New Delhi is seeking to get them discharged early.

“We have been in very close touch with our interlocutors in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence of Russia on this issue of Indians who were illegally or otherwise contracted into fighting in the Russian Army,” Misri said. “This matter was taken up at the highest levels including by the Prime Minister with President Putin.”

The foreign secretary briefed the media a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for the Russian city of Kazan to attend the 16th BRICS Summit. BRICS is a multilateral group comprising the world’s major emerging economies.

Media reports said that Modi is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

During Modi’s previous visit to Russia in July, the foreign ministry had said that Moscow had promised the early release of all Indians from the country’s military.

Around a hundred Indians were believed to have been forced to fight alongside the Russian army in its war on Ukraine. Dozens of them had sought the government’s help to return home.

At least eight Indians were killed in the conflict as of July, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had informed Parliament.

On June 11, the ministry 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.

On February 24, 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.

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.