Indian citizen Rakesh Kumar, who came to St. Petersburg on a student visa, informed his relatives that he was forced to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense and go to war in Ukraine, reported The Times of India.
The 30-year-old Kumar told his brother Deep Maurya at the end of August that he was forcibly mobilized and would soon be sent to the combat zone. After that, his phone became unreachable, and the family was sent a photo of Rakesh in Russian military uniform. The student himself told his relatives that his passport and personal documents were taken, work emails deleted, and before being sent to the front, he underwent military training in Donbas. That was the last contact with him.
Relatives reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indian embassy, and local authorities, hoping to bring him home.