A family from Tangdhar Karnah, a border town in Kupwara, has urgently appealed to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to help bring their son back from Russia, where, they claim, he was lured into the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
Zahoor Ahmad Sheikh, a 27-year-old from Karnah near the Line of Control, went missing in Russia after being deceived by agents with promises of a high-paying job in December 2023.
His family’s last communication with him occurred on December 31, 2023, when Zahoor mentioned he was to undergo some form of “training” and would be unreachable for three months. Since that call, his whereabouts have been unknown, causing deep distress to his family.
Zahoor’s father, Mohammad Amin Sheikh, told Greater Kashmir that his son, a graduate from Chandigarh, had been working at a company in India, earning Rs 30,000 a month. He was then approached by agents offering a lucrative job in Russia, which promised to pay him an entire year’s salary in just one month. Lured by the offer of a better future, Zahoor agreed to move to Russia.
However, upon arrival, Zahoor reportedly realized he had been deceived. According to his father, Zahoor, along with other young Indian men, was coerced into joining the Russian Army and sent to the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war. “My son thought he was heading towards a brighter future, but instead, he was trapped in a conflict he never wanted to be a part of,” said Mohammad Amin.
Since that last communication, Zahoor’s phone has been switched off, and despite over a year of searching, his family has had no success in locating him. Mohammad Amin has reported the case to the MEA and the Indian Embassy in Moscow, and despite multiple trips to Delhi to meet officials, he has received no substantial updates about his son’s fate.
“We have learned that Zahoor is one of 15 Indian nationals who have gone missing in Russia under similar circumstances,” his father shared. Families of the missing individuals allege that their loved ones were coerced into participating in the war. Despite repeated appeals, there has been no significant progress in locating the missing men.
“A year and a month have passed, and still, nobody is able to help us find our son. Every door I’ve knocked on has remained closed. We are living in constant fear, not knowing if Zahoor is alive or not,” said Mohammad Amin, expressing his family’s only wish – to know the truth about his son’s wellbeing.
In a recent update, the Ministry of External Affairs addressed the situation of Indians serving in the Russian Army amidst the ongoing war in Ukraine. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal revealed that the whereabouts of 16 individuals are currently unknown, with the Russian government listing them as “missing.”
Jaiswal stated, “We are working for the early release and repatriation of those who remain. Of the 126 cases, 96 individuals have returned to India after being discharged from the Russian Armed Forces. Eighteen Indian nationals are still serving, and 16 of them are currently missing. Sadly, twelve Indian nationals who had been serving in the Russian Army have died.”
