In October final 12 months, David Moothappan noticed a Facebook commercial providing jobs as safety guards in Russia.

The promised month-to-month wage – 204,000 roubles ($2,201; £1,739) – appeared an enormous quantity to the school-dropout fisherman from the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Weeks later, Mr Moothappan, 23, discovered himself on the warfront within the Russian-held metropolis of Donetsk in japanese Ukraine.

“It’s death and destruction everywhere,” he says, when requested about his time there.

He and one other man from Kerala managed to return dwelling final week. They are amongst a number of Indians who have been duped by agents into preventing for Russian forces within the nation’s conflict with Ukraine over the previous few months.

A number of have managed to make their method again dwelling however others are nonetheless caught in Russia. Most of them are from poor households and have been lured with the promise of jobs, typically as “helpers” within the Russian military. At least two Indians have died up to now within the conflict.

India’s international ministry has mentioned it’s “pressing very hard with the Russian authorities” to carry again its residents who’ve been tricked into preventing within the conflict. Last week, international minister S Jaishankar called this “a matter of very, very deep concern” for India. The BBC has emailed the Russian embassy in India for remark.

Warning: This article accommodates particulars some readers could discover distressing.

Mr Moothappan is relieved to be again dwelling within the fishing village of Pozhiyoor in Kerala, however says he cannot neglect what he noticed within the conflict.

“There were body parts strewn all over the ground,” he says. Distraught, he began vomiting and virtually fainted.

“Soon, the Russian officer commanding us told me to return to the camp. It took hours for me to recover,” he says.

He says he broke his leg round Christmas whereas preventing in a “remote place” – his household, he says, did not find out about his state of affairs at the moment.

Mr Moothappan spent two and a half months in numerous hospitals in Luhansk, Volgograd and Rostov earlier than recovering partially.

In March, a gaggle of Indians helped him attain the nation’s embassy in Moscow, which then organized for him to journey again dwelling.

Some 61km away in Anchuthengu, one other fishing hamlet in Kerala, Prince Sebastian has an identical story of escape – and trauma – to inform.

Duped by a neighborhood agent, he was deployed in a gaggle of 30 fighters within the Russian-occupied japanese Ukrainian city of Lysychansk. After simply three weeks of coaching, he says he was despatched to the frontline with a number of weapons together with an RPG-30 (a handheld, disposable rocket-propelled grenade launcher) and bombs, which prevented him from shifting shortly.

Fifteen minutes after he reached the entrance, he says a bullet fired from shut vary deflected off the tank he was in and pierced under his left ear. He fell – on to what he realised was a useless Russian soldier.

“I was shocked and I couldn’t move. After an hour, as the night fell, another bomb exploded. It badly injured my left leg.”

He spent the night time in a trench, bleeding. He escaped the subsequent morning and subsequently spent weeks in numerous hospitals.

He then obtained a month’s go away to relaxation. During this time, a priest helped him contact the Indian embassy which then issued him a brief passport and organized for his return dwelling.

He says two of his buddies who went with him, additionally fishermen, are nonetheless lacking. Neither he nor their households have heard from them in weeks.

Officials in Kerala say they’ve up to now acquired complaints from the households of 4 males – Mr Moothappan, Mr Sebastian and his two buddies – about being duped by brokers.

Mr Sebastian says he and his buddies went to a neighborhood agent of their village to verify if they might discover jobs someplace in Europe (the person is at present absconding).

The agent instructed Russia, talking of a “golden opportunity” to work as a safety guard for a month-to-month wage of 200,000 rupees ($2,402; £1,898). They agreed immediately.

The buddies paid 700,000 rupees every to him for a Russian visa. On 4 January, they reached Moscow, the place an Indian agent recognized as Alex, who spoke their language, Malayalam, welcomed them.

They spent the night time in a flat, following which a person took them to a army officer within the metropolis of Kostroma, 336km (208 miles) away, the place they have been made to signal a contract in Russian, a language they could not learn, Mr Sebastian mentioned.

Three Sri Lankan recruits additionally joined them there. Then the six males have been taken to a army camp within the Rostov area, which borders Ukraine. The officers took their passports and cell phones.

The coaching began on 10 January. In the next days, they learnt tips on how to use handheld anti-tank grenades and what to do in the event that they have been injured.

After this, they have been taken to a secondary base often known as the Alabino Polygon. There, the coaching continued for 10 days, “day and night”.

“All kinds of armaments were waiting for us there,” Mr Sebastian mentioned. “I started enjoying the weapons like toys.”

But the brutal actuality of the conflict hit him on the battlefield.

Now, he’s hoping to renew fishing. “I have to repay the money I borrowed from lenders and restart my life,” he says.

In Pozhiyoor, Mr Moothappan hopes to do the identical.

“I was engaged to a girl in my village when I left. I told her I’ll return with money and build a house before our marriage,” he mentioned.

Now the couple have determined to attend for 2 extra years as Mr Moothappan tries to rebuild his life.

But he is glad that at the least he did not kill anybody in his time on the battlefield.

“One time, the Ukrainians were some 200m away. We were asked to go on the offensive but I didn’t fire a single shot at them,” he mentioned. “I can’t kill anybody.”