India on Friday (November 7, 2025) said the number of Indian citizens serving in the Russian Army has increased to 44 in the wake of recruitment in recent months. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it has taken up the matter with Moscow and urged them to stop recruiting Indians into the Russian army. “Over the past few months, we have been informed about a number of Indian citizens who have joined the Russian army,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs.

“As per our understanding, 44 Indian nationals are currently serving in the Russian Army,” he said at his weekly media briefing. In September, Indian officials had said that 27 Indians were serving in the Russian army. Mr Jaiswal said India has taken up the matter with Russian authorities and urged them to “release the Indians as soon as possible and end this practice”.

“We are in touch with the Russian side. We are also in touch with the families of these people and are giving them updates on the case,” he said. There have been reports that some Indians on student and business visas were forced to join Russian military units deployed on the front lines of the war in Ukraine.

India has repeatedly asked Russia to release all Indians working as support staff such as cooks and assistants in Russian military units. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also raised this issue during his visit to Russia last year. Mr Jaiswal called on Indians to stay away from offers to serve in the Russian army as they are “fraught with danger to life”.

“We have said this many times. Despite our repeated reminders, people continue to recruit. If someone wants to do so, we cannot stop them, but we continue to stress that you should be aware of the dangers that come with signing up for these jobs,” Mr Jaiswal said.

According to official figures, the number of Indians recruited by the Russian Army is now close to 170. While 96 were discharged by Russian authorities, another 16 are listed as missing.

At least 12 Indians have been killed fighting on the front lines of the conflict in Ukraine.