Thrissur youths trapped in Russian warfront

Two youths from Thrissur, trapped in Russia-Ukraine warfront, forced to support Russian soldiers, families seek help for their return.

Two youths from Thrissur, Binil Babu, 32, and Jain Kurian, 27, are trapped in the Russia-Ukraine warfront after being forcibly enlisted by the Russian army, according to their families.

Binil and Jain, both relatives, who went to Russia seeking jobs, have been stuck in the conflict zone since June, carrying out dangerous tasks like delivering supplies and digging trenches for Russian soldiers in Ukrainian territory.

“They have been forced to provide supplies to the soldiers and make trenches on the warfront in Russia-occupied Ukraine since June. They called us today and said they’ve been told to prepare for combat,” says Sanish Skaria, Binil’s brother-in-law. Both Binil and Jain had travelled to Russia with hopes of securing the same jobs they had here—Binil as an electrician and Jain as a mechanic.

The youths had been promised jobs in Poland by a relative, but later in the visa process, they realised they had been deceived and would be working in Russia instead. By that time, they had already paid ₹1.40 lakh each for their visas and ₹40,000 for their travel tickets.

On their arrival in April, Binil and Jain were subjected to war training at a Russian military camp and subsequently assigned to tasks supporting the war effort. They called their families on Wednesday, stating they may not be able to communicate further, as they had been asked to prepare for active combat.

“Binil’s wife, Joycy, was pregnant when he left for Russia, and he is yet to meet his child,” says Mr. Skaria.

Sandeep Chandran, 36, another youth from Thrissur, tragically lost his life in August from shelling in Ukraine. Since then, the families of the two youths had been desperately trying to bring both Binil and Jain back, seeking assistance from the Indian embassy and NoRKA.