India says its citizens were 'duped' to serve in the Russian army. Now it wants them back

India is seeking the release of its nationals who have been "duped" into serving in the Russian army, a spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said Friday, in a rare rift from Moscow.

"Several Indian nationals have been duped to work with the Russian army. We have strongly taken up the matter with the Russian government for early discharge of such internationals," said spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. "A case of human trafficking has been registered against several agents."

He appealed to Indian nationals to "not be swayed by offers made by agents for support jobs with the Russian army. This is fraught with danger and risk to life," stressing that New Delhi remains "committed to early release of our nationals serving as support staff with the Russian army and the eventual return home."

Late on Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation of India said it had raided several "major human trafficking networks" that were "targeting gullible youths" with offers of lucrative jobs abroad. The CBI identified at least "35 instances" of Indian citizens being sent abroad as a result of these operations.

"These traffickers have been operating as an organized network and were luring Indian nationals through social media channels like Youtube etc and also through their local contacts/agents for highly paid jobs in Russia," the CBI said in a statement.

Following their recruitment, Indian nationals were "trained in combat roles and deployed at front bases in Russia-Ukraine War Zoen against their wishes, thus, putting their lives in grave dangers."

"It has been ascertained that some of these victims also got grievously injured in the war zone," the agency said.

It comes amid a domestic labour crisis that has incentivized Indian