Indian student who went to Russia to study at St Petersburg Univ was forced to join Russian military

September 23

His elder brother, Deepu Maurya, said the last time they had a direct conversation was on Aug 30, when Rakesh informed them that he had been forcibly drafted into the Russian army and would soon be deployed to the war zone in Ukraine. After that call, his phone went unreachable. The family later received a photo of Rakesh in a Russian military uniform, which only heightened their fears and confirmed their worst suspicions. A few days later, Rakesh called again, this time from an unfamiliar Russian number. In a short and distressed conversation, he told them that his passport and personal documents had been seized, his official emails had been deleted, and that he had undergone military training in the Donbas region before being sent to the battlefield. That was the last they heard from him.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/set-to-join-russia-university-uttarkhand-man-sent-to-war-front-in-ukraine/amp_articleshow/124058700.cms