Jaick, five months old, smiles innocently on his mother Joicy’s lap. He’s unaware of the devastating storm swirling around his young life. Joicy clutches him tightly, her tears flowing uncontrollably.
Her husband, Binil Babu, 32, from Kuttanellur, Thrissur, was killed on the Russia-Ukraine war front three weeks ago. The news of her husband’s death came as a rude shock for Joicy, who is staring at an uncertain future. More agonising is her wait for her husband’s body. Three weeks into Binil’s death, there is no word about when the family will be able to give him a decent burial.
“There’s nothing good to wait for any more,” she whispers, her voice breaking. “But my son should see his father’s face, even if it’s only in a coffin.”
Binil, an electrician, had gone to Russia seeking a better life for his family. Joicy was five months pregnant when he left. Binil had spent nearly a decade working in Oman before returning home. He wanted to settle here. At this juncture, P.O. Sibi, a relative, offered him a job in Poland.
At Kuthupara, nearly eight kilometres from Binil’s home, his relative Jessy anxiously waits for a call from Moscow. Her 27-year-old son, Jain Kurian, who went to Russia along with Binil, was critically injured in a drone attack and is now recuperating at a hospital there.
In hospital with severe injuries
Helplessness grips Jessy as she speaks of her son’s condition. “Jain is in a critical condition in the hospital, alone. He can’t even communicate with the medical team as he doesn’t know the language. A shell hit him in the stomach. After a surgery and three weeks of treatment, he can now speak faintly on the phone,” she says.
Both families have been desperately knocking on every possible door, hoping to bring their loved ones home — one dead and the other one struggling to survive.
The route to Moscow
Jessy recalls that the recruitment group, including Sibi, had initially offered Jain and Binil jobs in Poland. However, after the visa allegedly got cancelled, Sibi said the job of an electrician was open in Moscow instead. He assured them that working for the Russian army as back-end staff was a safe option, which would fetch them a monthly salary of over ₹2 lakh. He had also reportedly offered them the choice of returning home after one year. Trusting Sibi, both Binil and Jain travelled to Moscow in April 2024, without realising the risks that awaited them there.
“They were not given the promised jobs. Instead, they were taken to a Russian military camp, where they were forcibly enlisted by the Russian army and given military training. Their passports were confiscated and replaced with Russian passports,” says Jessy.
Sanish Zakkariah, Binil’s cousin, says that the duo were initially given sundry jobs, including digging trenches at the war front in Russian-occupied Ukraine. There were six Keralites at the camp. One of the recruits, Sandeep Chandran of Kallur in Thrissur, was killed in a shell attack in August 2024. After his death, three others from Kerala — Renil Thomas, Sibi Thomas, and Santhosh Shanmugham — were repatriated. Binil and Jain were asked to wait till new recruits joined, says Sanish.
In the midst of intense fighting
Santhosh reveals that there were six Keralites in their group, all recruited by the same gang. “After Sandeep’s death, we began exploring ways to return home. In between, the army sent us to the front line in Russian-occupied Ukraine. The fighting was intense, with both sides firing fiercely. We were taking cover under the ruins of collapsed buildings. I truly feel I have escaped from the jaws of death and am lucky to get back home,” he says. “I didn’t file a complaint immediately after returning because I feared it might affect the safe return of others,” he says.
“It was only after Sandeep’s death that we realised the extent of danger my husband and cousin (Jain Kurian) had found themselves in,” says Joicy. “Binil had made a video call in August to see the newborn. He then conveyed to us the gravity of the situation there,” she recalls.
Since then, the families of both youths have been running from pillar to post to get their dear ones released from the forced military service. They received little help from the authorities.
Desperate plea for help
Three weeks after Sandeep’s death, in September, Binil and Jain recorded a video, a desperate plea for help. It was followed by another video on December 12, in which they seemed even more distressed.
“They are asking us to get ready for direct combat. They supplied us with magazines, grenades, and other weapons. Four of our group have already been sent to the front, and we are next,” Jain says in the video.
“When we contacted the embassy, they told us our contract with the army had been cancelled three months ago. But the commander denies this. Without a dismissal letter from the Russian Defence Ministry, they will not let us leave. We are stuck here,” he says.
The tragic news of Binil’s death reached his family on January 13, through a phone call from Jain, who happened to see Binil’s body while moving to the war front. “I saw Binil lying on the ground, lifeless, covered in blood.” Jain wrote in a message from the hospital bed. Before he could check on Binil’s body, a shell hit him, knocking him unconscious. Jain was fortunate to be rushed to the hospital and survive.
Efforts on, says Suresh Gopi
Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi, who also represents Thrissur in the Lok Sabha, says that the Indian government is in constant contact with the Russian authorities to secure the release of those being held in Russia.
“We can only proceed through the diplomatic channels. I am closely monitoring the situation. The embassy counsellor has already been in touch with Jain, and he is out of danger,” says the MP.
“The Russian government should give clearance for the release of Binil’s body. Once cleared, his body will be flown in,” he adds and cautions youngsters against falling prey to the illegal recruiting networks operating in the country.
Police enter the scene
The death and detention of youths in Russia prompted police action in Kerala. The Thrissur police arrested three persons — Sibi, 26, from Thayyur, a relative of Binil and Jain; Sandeep Thomas, 40, from Kariyad, Ernakulam; and Sumesh C. Antony, 41, from Chalakudy — following complaints from the families of the two men. Of the three, both Sibi and Sandeep hold Russian citizenship. In addition to Joicy and Binil’s families, the brother of Sandeep Chandran, who was killed in Russia, and three youths who managed to escape from Russia also filed complaints with the police.
According to Thrissur City Police Commissioner Ilango R., the accused were arrested under Sections 143 (1) (d) (trafficking by fraud or deception), 146 (unlawful compulsory labor), and 318 (2) (cheating and fraud) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
According to the FIRs filed by the police on complaints by Joicy, Binil’s wife, and Kurian, Jain’s father, the accused had taken ₹1.40 lakh from each of the young men.
The FIR stated: “On April 4, 2024, Jain and Binil were taken to Moscow with the promise of lucrative work as electricians. However, upon arrival in Moscow, they were not given the promised jobs but were instead taken to a military camp.”
The second accused, Sandeep, allegedly seized their Indian passports and coerced them into signing documents for Russian ones. The FIR also stated that Sumesh, the third accused, had collected ₹4.20 lakh from the victims for their flight tickets.
The incidents have brought to focus the instances of illegal recruitment from Kerala with many youths falling prey to exploitative networks.
Binu Panicker, president of the All Moscow Malayalees Association, says that most Keralites come to Russia on visiting visa or student visa, or through a special visa for Highly Qualified Specialists that allows them to work in Russia for up to three years.
“Recently, the Russians have started recruiting semi-skilled workers from countries like India for jobs in cleaning, hotels, and these jobs typically offer low wages — around ₹40,000 to ₹50,000 a month, barely enough to survive,” he says.
A more troubling trend has emerged with Russia issuing Russian passports and citizenship on the spot to individuals willing to join the military for back-end jobs. This has become a major draw for Keralites, with army positions offering salaries of up to ₹3 lakh per month.
“Now, a large number of Keralites are coming to Russia for various semi-skilled jobs, which has reflected in the growing membership of the Malayalees Association. We had just 180 members until recently, but in 2024 alone, around 100 new members joined, and another 50 applications are pending,” he says.
“We are sharing with the Indian embassy in Moscow information on illegal recruitment rackets that have operational cells in both Russia and India. There are even more Keralites, who were initially recruited for non-combat roles, now being sent to the front line,” he says.
In the meantime, Joicy’s wait for her husband’s body continues. It may take some more time for her son to see his father’s face for the first and last time.
(With inputs from Dhinesh Kallungal)
