“I want to see the clear blue sky that is not raining drones and missiles if I make it out of Russia alive,” says Hardeep Gill*, a 24-year-old Indian man caught in the middle of the first major European conflict since the Second World War, fighting for a country that isn’t his own.
Gill, from a city in Punjab, is one of nearly 100 Indian nationals who have found themselves fighting alongside the Russian army in Ukraine, many of them ensnared by human traffickers tasked with recruiting foreign fighters to bolster the ranks of Vladimir Putin’s army.
Gill speaks to The Independent from a frontline location in southern Ukraine, talking in Hindi via WhatsApp voice notes for fear of being caught by his Russian superiors. “I could die any moment. I am in a dangerous place where we are being attacked by drones constantly,” Gill says.
Like many in India’s Punjab state, Gill grew up with dreams of settling abroad and wanted to pursue further studies in the UK. After he was denied a visa, he claims he left for Russia in midDecember on a tourist visa for the sake of getting a foreign stamp in his passport, hoping that travel experience would bolster his chances of securing a trip to the UK in the future.
His plans unravelled, he says, when a taxi driver in Russia overcharged him, robbed him of his money and belongings, and left him stranded. With no support system and no knowledge of the language, he wandered the streets, before finding his way into the hands of recruiters who inducted him into the Russian army. Now Gill has been deployed to the front line, digging trenches and assisting soldiers in a war that is not his own.
この記事は The Independent の September 06, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Independent の September 06, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Kyrgios to return but keeps focus on Sinner and Swiatek
Nick Kyrgios just wants to speak his truth, man. He does, after all, have his own podcast to go along with his blue tick on X/Twitter, where he is not afraid to add a hot take or two to the big topics. It's hardly a new development.
Slot eyes strong second half as Reds dream of quadruple
Arne Slot did not use the word, though Jurgen Klopp became quite familiar with it.
Isak stars as Newcastle expose Arsenal's failings
A night that was about whether you could take your chances; for goals, and maybe for finals.
Britons splurge £13bn on festive fun – but inflation may leave a nasty hangover
UK retail outlet Next has posted another rise in sales ahead of expectations over the Christmas period, but warned that a price increase is on the cards for 2025 as it looks to overcome raised costs following last year's Budget.
Next posts rise in sales but warns of difficult year ahead
UK retail outlet Next has posted another rise in sales ahead of expectations over the Christmas period, but warned that a price increase is on the cards for 2025 as it looks to overcome raised costs following last year's Budget.
Carney failed to stop Brexit but hopes to save Canada
Mark Carney may enter the race to succeed Justin Trudeau as leader of Canada's Liberal Party.
Trump fails to rule out use of force to take Greenland
US president-elect Donald Trump has refused to rule out using military or economic action to pursue acquisition of the Panama Canal and Greenland.
At least 126 dead in Tibet after powerful earthquake
A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the foothills of the Himalayas yesterday near one of Tibet’s holiest cities, killing at least 126 people and flattening hundreds of houses and causing tremors felt in Nepal, Bhutan and India.
Far-right firebrand's ghost will loom large over Europe
The death of Jean-Marie Le Pen should give us a moment to ponder the long march of the French far right and the rise to power of fascistic parties across Europe.
French far-right political leader Le Pen dies at 96
Unrepentant bigot and Holocaust denier Jean-Marie Le Pen founded the National Front and fought for populist policies
