India's embassy in Moscow has confirmed the death of a citizen recruited by the Russian army, days after a relative said he had been sent to fight in Ukraine, AFP reports.
Two years after Russia's invasion began, tens of thousands of its soldiers have been killed in Ukraine, and Moscow is searching globally for more fighters.
The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said last month it was working to free about 20 Indian nationals "stuck" in the Russian army.
The embassy did not specify the circumstances that led to Mohammad Asfan's death, but said it was in contact with his family and Russian authorities.
"The mission will undertake efforts to send his remains to India," the embassy wrote in X.
Asfan's brother Mohammad Imran said in February that his brother had been missing for nearly two months.
Asfan last called from the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don to say he had been sent to the front line, Imran said.
He said another Indian soldier who managed to escape told his family that Asfan, 30, had been shot by a bullet.
Asfan is the first death confirmed by Indian authorities among its nationals serving in the Russian army, and the second confirmed overall.
A Ukrainian air strike killed a 23-year-old man from the state of Gujarat who was working as a "security assistant," local media reported last month, citing relatives and another Indian soldier on the front line.
Several Indian recruits said last month that they were lured into joining the army with promises of high salaries and a Russian passport before being sent to the front line.
The soldiers said they were promised a non-combat role but were trained to use Kalashnikov assault rifles and other weapons before being sent to Ukraine. / BGNES
