Congress Raises Alarm Over Haryana Youth Deceived Into Russia-Ukraine War

Congress leaders Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala have voiced grave concern over the plight of two men from Haryana’s Fatehabad district, Ankit Jangra (23) and Vijay Poonia (25), who were allegedly deceived into joining the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Selja, a Sirsa MP and former Union minister, described a viral social media video of the duo as “extremely distressing” and urged the Centre for immediate intervention.

Surjewala revealed that Jangra and Poonia, who traveled to Russia on student visas, were misled into joining the Russian army and deployed to the Ukraine war zone. “Both have appealed for help from the Government of India through videos and WhatsApp calls,” he posted on X, pressing the BJP-led Centre to ensure their safe return.

Raghuvir, Jangra’s brother, shared that Ankit, who went to Moscow six months ago for a Russian-language course, contacted him via video call. He revealed that a woman in Moscow promised them high-paying security jobs with a Rs 2.5 lakh monthly salary after three months of training. Instead, they were coerced into signing a Russian-language contract, given army uniforms, briefly trained, and sent to Ukraine’s forests. Jangra noted other Indians are similarly trapped.

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Selja highlighted that this incident reflects Haryana’s severe unemployment crisis, pushing youth to seek jobs abroad, often leading to dangerous and fraudulent situations. “This is not just a humanitarian crisis but about the future of the state’s youth,” she said, noting previous cases of Haryana youngsters caught in the conflict on Russia’s side. She urged the Centre to act swiftly to bring back not only Jangra and Poonia but all stranded Indians safely.

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