A 22-year-old Indian citizen fighting for Russia has been captured by soldiers from Ukraine's 63rd Separate Mechanised Brigade. The Indian man, who had been studying in Russia and was sent to the front after being convicted on drug charges, said he did not want to fight and surrendered during his first assault.

Source : 63rd Separate Mechanised Brigade

Details : The prisoner, Majoti Sahid Mohamed, said he came to Russia to study at a university but was sentenced to seven years in prison for drug offences. To avoid imprisonment, he signed a contract with the Russian armed forces, intending to escape during combat.

According to Mohamed, he had been promised that a year of service would earn him freedom and payment ranging from RUB 100,000 to 1.5 million (about US$1,200-18,000), but he never received any money.

In September, he spent 16 days at a training ground, where he learned only the basics – how to shoot a rifle and throw grenades.

Mohamed had walked about 3.5 km and was supposed to dig a dugout, but his unit then had to retreat. He told his commander that he was tired and that his legs and heart hurt. In response, he said, the commander ordered his walkie-talkie to be taken away and that he be "let go".

After walking several kilometres, Mohamed came across a Ukrainian dugout, put down his weapon and voluntarily surrendered.

"I don't want to fight. I need help," he told Ukrainian soldiers.

Mohamed now says he does not want to return to Russia because "there is no truth there" and that he is ready to stay in Ukraine or return to India if possible.

Read more: Zelenskyy posts video of interrogation of Chinese POWs captured in Donetsk Oblast

Background :

• In October 2023, Ukraine's National Resistance Center reported that Russians were recruiting mercenaries from Cuba en masse to fight against Ukraine, later deploying foreign fighters along the front line in the east.
• In February 2024, media reports revealed that Russia was deceiving Syrians – many of whom did not even speak Russian – into signing contracts with the Russian Defence Ministry in exchange for Russian passports.
• Later, the National Resistance Center identified several mercenaries from the Middle East fighting for Russia against Ukraine.
• In December 2024, soldiers from the 28th Separate Mechanised Brigade captured an Egyptian citizen after repelling another assault by Russian forces near Toretsk.
• On 8 April 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian troops in Donetsk Oblast had captured two Chinese citizens fighting in the ranks of the Russian armed forces. Zelenskyy instructed his foreign minister to contact Beijing immediately and find out how China planned to respond. The two Chinese citizens had been taken prisoner by Ukrainian soldiers from the 81st Brigade and the 157th Brigade.
• In addition, in April 2025, fighters from the 49th Separate Assault Battalion captured an African mercenary fighting for Russian forces on the Toretsk front.

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