The Kremlin on Tuesday said it is preparing a list of Indian nationals still serving on the battlefield with the Russian Army and promised to send them back home, as India pressed Moscow to release the remaining personnel at the earliest.Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the issue had been repeatedly raised by New Delhi and that Russia was working to identify Indian citizens currently serving on the battlefield.“The work is being done to make a list of those Indian citizens who are now on the battlefield and they will be sent back home as soon as they are determined,” Peskov told Indian journalists in a virtual interaction, adding that Russia is in a very “deep and profound contact” with the Indian side on this issue.Reacting to Peskov’s remarks, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said around two dozen Indians remained in the Russian Army and New Delhi had taken up the matter with Moscow.“We have around two dozen people who still continue to be in the Russian Army and we have taken up the matter with the Russian government and hope to have them released at the earliest,” Jaiswal said.The Kremlin assurance comes after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri recently said that 51 Indian nationals had died while serving in the Russian armed forces during the Ukraine war.According to the latest data, at least 227 Indians have been recruited into the Russian Army. Of these, 139 have been released from service, 51 have died and the status of the remaining personnel has been unclear.The recruitment of Indians into the Russian military has been a persistent concern for New Delhi. Several Indians have said they travelled to Russia on tourist or student visas expecting employment but were subsequently made to sign documents in an unfamiliar language before being deployed with military units.The latest Russian assurance is also significant because it is not the first time Moscow has promised to release Indians caught up in the war.During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia in July 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to facilitate the release of Indians who had been allegedly deceived into joining the Russian military.However, fresh cases continued to emerge. In September 2025, India again reported new instances of its nationals being recruited into the Russian armed forces and pressed Moscow to stop the practice.The issue is likely to figure in discussions between Modi and Putin when the Russian President visits India, with the two leaders scheduled to meet on September 11.