Fighting Other’s Wars: Plight of South-East Asian Youth in Russia-Ukraine War

India was under massive criticism in 2023 when it decided to stay neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war and did not stop trading with Russia. This was a time when the India-Russia ties took a critical step forward, and India ended up gaining from this, especially economically. Our ministers, especially the foreign minister, have done impressive work walking the tightrope by not upsetting the Western bloc and the Russians. However, Indians are now being deceitfully deployed in the war or are actively searching for employment through this war, predominantly on the Russian side.  

In the last week of February, when the war in Ukraine had been sidelined in the Indian media for the longest time, Indians and their active or forced participation in the war took the headlines. It has been brought to attention that there have been around 100 documented Indian nationals who have been recruited through recruitment centers in major Indian cities, the Moscow Times reported. These people are recruited under the job title of ‘army helpers’ and are paid a meager$1,200 monthly for their services. 

A representative engaged in the recruiting of the victims emphasized the misleading tactics, stressing that the initial arrangement comprised basic instruction, psychological evaluations, and other exams prior to ascertaining the specifics of their positions. The representative alerted the men ofthe serious danger they would face if the government does not act quickly.

There are a handful of Indians who are volunteering as soldiers for the Ukrainian side, too, as they believe that the Russian atrocities are unwarranted and they are plundering the Ukrainians.  

After this news broke out, the Ministry of External Affairs had to make a public announcement to “stay away from this conflict.” They recognized that Indians were fighting the war for these countries, and the ministry would bring back all those who wanted to. The Wire reported that the Ministry denied getting into the case's specifics. Russia has been using countries going through economic turmoil similar to that of India to target the youth for hiring for their military objectives. One such example is the mass recruitment of 15,000 soldiers from Nepal. Russia is not leaving its friends and their citizens in this war effort. One may find similar stories emerging from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other South-East Asian countries.

Most of the people who are hired or forced into the war are people who are poor or unemployed. India, with its very high youth unemployment rates, has failed to provide meaningful employment to its citizens, and they have been forced to engage in such war efforts. Apart from the major security lapse that this account portrays on the Indian front, we must also remember that the students who were evacuated from Ukraine found themselves back home with incomplete degrees and no help from the government to find ways to finish their education. 

Naturally, you might wonder why we should even care about such recruitment as this might be contractual work for most. The simple reason is that once the war ends, prisoners of war of both these countries would be returned to the other as per the Geneva Convention. However, Indians and other such foreign recruits would be counted as mercenaries who are not legitimate combatants and are not obligated to be released from incarceration. This was done originally to avoid people profiting out of war. However, none of these people are profiting out of war instead they would end up losing more than the damage they would have caused. Image Source: The Week