"Camp officials first assured us we wouldn’t be taken to the battlefield. Within days, they pressured us to join. When we refused, they showed us the contracts we had signed in Russian. They threatened to kill us if we ran away or refused."
Full-scale invasion and national resilience, broadcasted live.
-
Basic training short, heavy losses on front lines, broken promises
29/ The men were given 15 days of basic training before being sent to the front lines on 10 September. Within a few days, five of their group of 15 were already dead. Another man sent to Chilimnyi says he was promised he would only be building bunkers.
-
Russian camp threats force villagers to sign contracts
28/ In fact, Chilimnyi turned out to be a Russian army camp. Gursewak says: "Officials threatened us with pistols and forced us to sign contracts in Russian. If we refused, they said we would be killed."
-
Recruitment agent promises high salaries, sends workers to “Russian government site”
26/ The recruitment agent arranged for their travel from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport to a place called Chilimnyi. "She told us it was a Russian government site. We fell for the promise of high salaries."
-
Russian soldiers face death for retreating
He says that retreating is punishable by death (which Russian soldiers have also reported): "When we ask to return, the Russian soldiers point guns at us and say, 'Kill or die—there’s no going back.'"
-
Man recounts forced training and combat after injury, hospitalized in Moscow
19/ He says that the men in his group "were taken to a camp, our passports were seized, and we were trained for 15 days before being sent to fight under threat of death." He had himself been seriously injured in a drone strike and was now being treated in hospital in Moscow.
-
Indians trapped on front lines appeal for help amid mistreatment
17/ In September 2025, several groups of Indians trapped on the front lines recorded a video appealing for help. Samarjeet Singh from Ludhiana said that nine Indians, including himself, were being “grossly mistreated”, and denied food, water and other supplies.
-
30 trained in weapons, 6 Indians, one jumped from vehicle and fractured leg
15/ "He and about 30 others were taken to a remote area and trained in weapons. Six of them are Indians. After training, 26 were sent to the front line. While being taken to the border, he jumped from the vehicle and fractured his leg."
-
Forced to fight: Niece alleges contract in Russian, torture, and beatings.
14/ His niece says that "he was forced to sign a contract written in Russian. When he tried to translate it on his phone, they snatched it and made him sign. He is being beaten and tortured to fight a war he never agreed to."
-
Soldier injured, abandoned, denied medical help, pleads for aid from Modi.
11/ Ashu says: "He was later injured and abandoned by his commander. He somehow crawled back to his bunker after three days but was denied medical help. We saw photos of him wounded." Aman recorded a video pleading for help from Modi and the Indian government.