3 UP youths missing in Russia; told kin ‘forced to fight against Ukraine’

AGRA/SHAMLI: Amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, families of three young men from western Uttar Pradesh are living in despair after losing contact with their sons in Moscow.The youths, who travelled to Russia on study visas last year, reportedly claimed before going silent that local authorities confiscated their passports and forced them into military service.The missing youths are Himanshu Sharma (24) and Shakti Punder (23), both from Muzaffarnagar, and Ashu Saini (25) from Shamli district. The three men were sharing a room in the Russian capital Moscow and were pursuing a Russian language course.According to relatives, the last contact with the students came on July 30, when brief phone calls were made before their lines went dead and their phones switched off. Himanshu Sharma went to Russia on a student visa to study and take up permissible part-time work.His cousin, Priyanshu Sharma, told reporters, “His passport was due to expire this year. Since that last call on July 30, we have called his number several times with no response. We suspect he could be forced into the Russian Army.”Similarly, Shakti Punder’s father reported speaking to him last on the same day, after which all communication ceased.Ashu Saini hailed from Hasanpur Lohari village in Shamli’s Thanabhawan area and left for Russia in April 2026. His sister, Anshul, recalled a hurried 30-second final conversation where he briefly mentioned he was fine before hanging up.Ashu’s father, Rakesh Kumar, a farmer, has formally appealed to the Prime Minister’s Office seeking his son’s safe return.Following desperate pleas from the families, appeals were dispatched to ministry of external affairs (MEA). In response, MEA informed the families that India’s embassy in Moscow has actively intervened.“The embassy has taken up the matter with the Russian authorities concerned. They have reportedly joined the Russian army; the embassy has sought details of their whereabouts. The embassy is separately taking up their case,” the MEA stated in its reply to the families of the youths.In July, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal acknowledged that approximately 24 Indian citizens—recruited through fraudulent or non-transparent means—remain stuck serving within the ranks of Russian army as the war in Ukraine persists.While local authorities in Uttar Pradesh have assured grieving families that inquiries are underway and assistance will be extended, relatives continue to wait anxiously for their safe repatriation.(With inputs from Sudeep Lavania in Agra and Sachin Sharma in Shamli)You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Agra | Silver Rate in Agra | Bank Holidays in Agra | Public Holidays in Agra | Agra AQI | Weather in Agra | Petrol Price in Agra | Diesel Price in Agra | CNG Price in Agra | LPG Price in AgraStay updated with the latest Agra news. Download the TOI App.