Russia promises to discharge Indians fighting in Ukraine: India minister

Russia has promised to allow dozens of Indians fighting in Ukraine after being recruited into Moscow's army on misleading terms to return home, India's foreign minister said Tuesday.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "strongly raised the issue of early discharge of Indian nationals who have been misled into the service of the Russian army" with President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Moscow, Vinay Kwatra told reporters on the meeting's sidelines.

"This was taken up strongly by the prime minister and the Russian side promised early discharge," the Asian nation's top diplomat said.

While Kwatra said he did not know how many Indian nationals had been recruited to fight in Moscow's offensive, India "anticipates it to be roughly 35-50".

Of those, 10 have already been brought back to India, he added.

The foreign minister said India and Russia will now "work on it and see how exactly, and how expeditiously, we can get them back into the country".

In recent months, several people have told AFP they were recruited into the Russian army on the promise that they would not see combat and would only work in supporting roles.

Despite these promises, they were trained in the use of weapons and then deployed to the Ukraine front.

Besides Indian nationals, the Russian army has also recruited Sri Lankans and Nepalis to fight in Ukraine.

Sri Lanka likewise asked Moscow at the end of June to allow its citizens taking part in the conflict to return home if they wished.