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• Family Medicine - Caldwell Health Plaza
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• Neurology opening in Boise, ID
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• Endocrinology - Boise, ID
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• Foot & Ankle Orthopedic Surgery - FT - Boise
• General-Non-Invasive Cardiologist - FT - Boise, ID
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• Family Medicine Physician - FT - Boise, Locust Grove Clinic
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• Sleep Medicine Physican - Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell & Eastern Oregon
• Outpatient Psychologist Behavioral Health - FT - Boise, ID
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• Urgent Care Medical Director - FT - Boise, ID
• Ortho-Sports Medicine & Family Medicine - FT - Fruitland, ID (Fruitland Health Plaza)
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FirstChoice offers rewarding nursing, respiratory therapist, surgical technologist, and health care professional travel positions with a flexible schedule to fit your life. FirstChoice travel health care professionals fill critical positions when unforeseen or unplanned circumstances occur; or, when there is a position open due to an extended leave-of-absence. You’ll get to experience a variety of practice settings while traveling within your local region or traveling nationally – your choice!

Join us in caring for our community— we can't do it without you.

FirstChoice exclusively supports hospitals and facilities within the Trinity Health system meaning you will have a consistent experience between job locations. You are a highly valued member of our team. Your training at one location will apply to other sites within the region and will minimize the time you are spending outside of patient care. We understand that there has been a fundamental shift in health care in recent years and like any other employee, nurses and health care professionals want more options and flexibility in their careers. FirstChoice provides you with both, along with the comfort and security of one employer.

Why FirstChoice?

Nurse shortages and a changing health care landscape have required us to rely on external agencies to fill positions, backfill leaves, and staff temporary needs, which are hard to fill due to the temporary nature. The FirstChoice model provides options and flexibility that was previously only available through external staffing agencies. FirstChoice RNs will be dependable and collaborative partners to our bedside nurses. FirstChoice will significantly decrease the dependence on external travelers thereby creating a high-quality, consistent and dependable workforce in-house to work side-by-side with our nurses. A regional nurse staffing program will allow us to steward our resources while providing our hospitals with direct access to a highly skilled in-house talent pool.

FirstChoice is the name for a regional staffing program that provides a flexible and competent nursing workforce to quickly and efficiently fill gaps in nurse staffing. Adding a regional nurse staffing team that aligns with our Mission and Core Values, and who are highly knowledgeable about our care practices, processes and standards further supports and upholds our commitment to exceptional care and a strong nursing team culture.

FirstChoice RNs are employees of Saint Alphonsus, allowing for greater flexibility, and responsiveness to staffing needs. This also ensures consistency in training, care delivery, and quality of care.

FirstChoice does not replace or take away hours from our nursing colleagues. Rather, FirstChoice will work hand-in-hand with our staffing office when unforeseen and unplanned circumstances occur; or, when there is a need to fill an extended leave-of-absence to best support our nursing colleagues and patients.

FirstChoice Nurse Opportunities Include:

• Flexible schedule.
• Work at Saint Alphonsus hospitals throughout Idaho/Oregon.
• Wide range of assignments and the chance to work side-by-side with our highly skilled in-house nursing team.
• Seniority date is maintained across Trinity Health.
• Travel to other Trinity Health locations may be available, if desired.

Minimum Qualifications/Requirements of a FirstChoice Nurse:

• Registered nurse with a license in the state(s) you will work.
• Minimum eighteen months of nursing experience relevant to your practice area.
• Willingness to float between regional locations (i.e. travel nurse).

How to Apply

• You can apply via Workday (internal candidates only).
• Go to the FirstChoice Travel RN website , click on the posting title of interest, and apply.
• Email Helen Kinnie, FirstChoice .

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We care about what is most important to our nurses and make investments in those areas to best prepare them for success at work, at home, and in the future. When you join Trinity Health you're joining a team with thousands of nurses strong operating across hundreds of continuing care facilities and outpatient locations in 27 states.

Joining Trinity Health means access to these benefits and access to new growth opportunities across the country.

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Travel Nursing/FirstChoice

We created FirstChoice for those nurses who desire flexible scheduling, increased pay scales, and variety in practice settings and learning opportunities. If this sounds like you, click below to learn about our travel nursing opportunities.

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A History of Moscow in 13 Dishes

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MOSCOW RETURNS DEFENSE MINISTRY TO CAREER OFFICER

By Serge Schmemann , Special To the New York Times

• Dec. 23, 1984

Marshal Sergei L. Sokolov, a 73-year-old Soviet career officer and a First Deputy Minister of Defense for the last 17 years, was named today to replace the late Dmitri F. Ustinov as Defense Minister.

The appointment signaled the return of the post to a professional soldier. Marshal Ustinov, who died Thursday at 76, was the national party secretary responsible for the military- industrial complex when he was made Defense Minister in 1976.

Speculation About Romanov

There had been the possibility that the defense post would again go to a civilian, and speculation focused on Grigory V. Romanov, the national party secretary who now oversees defense industry.

The speculation was reinforced by the fact that Mr. Romanov led the funeral commission charged with arranging the Red Square rites for Marshal Ustinov. The funeral commission job is usually given to the man who is to succeed the dead official.

The decision to return the post of Defense Minister to a military man is not expected to herald a change in the influence of the armed forces in Soviet policy-making. Like his predecessor, Marshal Sokolov is expected to lobby for military spending. In international affairs, he is expected to stand behind the decision to resume negotiations with the United States next month.

Nor is the return of the ministry to military leadership being viewed by Western diplomats as an expansion of the military's influence. The Soviet armed forces, they noted, are no longer dominated by the imposing World War II marshals who ran the ministry before Marshal Ustinov - men like Georgi K. Zhukov, Rodion Y. Malinovsky or Andrei A. Grechko. Marshal Sokolov, the new Defense Minister, was graduated from the Armored Forces Academy in 1947, and after 20 years in regional staff posts moved to the ministry in April 1967 as a First Deputy Defense Minister when Marshal Grechko took over.

It remains to be seen to what extent Marshal Sokolov's position in the party hierarchy will be enhanced. He has been a full member of the Central Committee since 1968, after two years as a candidate member.

Marshal Ustinov was a member of the higher-ranking Politburo, having been made a full member of that ruling body in 1976 after 11 years as a candidate$ or nonvoting, member. Politburo Promotion Is Watched

If the military is to retain its voice in the top policy-making body, Marshal Sokolov may be expected to become a candidate member. Politburo appointments are usually disclosed at meetings of the Central Committee, which meets again in the spring.

The appointment of Marshal Sokolov was announced as Marshal Ustinov's body lay in state at the House of Unions, a prerevolutionary nobleman's club used for such occasions. Thousands of people lined up outside in frigid weather for a quick glimpse at the flower-draped coffin, with Marshal Ustinov's medals displayed at his feet.

The chandeliers in the room, known as the Hall of Columns, were draped in red and black, an orchestra played somber music on one side and on the other, in the shadow of the catafalque, sat Marshal Ustinov's relatives.

Stand-In for Ustinov

Marshal Sokolov was the senior of three First Deputy Ministers and, after Marshal Ustinov became ill in October, appeared several times in his stead. The two others were Marshal Viktor G. Kulikov, who is commander of Warsaw Pact forces, and Marshal Sergei F. Akhromeyev, who became Chief of the General Staff after Marshal Nikolai V. Ogarkov was dismissed in September.

Marshal Sokolov has made at least 23 trips abroad since 1969, many of them to countries that use Soviet arms.

At home, Marshal Sokolov has served in relative obscurity. His few articles in the press have been standard exhortative pieces.

Western diplomats believe it was these qualities of self-effacement and managerial experience that recommended Marshal Sokolov to succeed Marshal Ustinov. In a Politburo apparently divided among conservatives and reformers, among young and old, Marshal Sokolov was the least controversial choice for such a sensitive post.

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Politics latest: MSP who could decide Humza Yousaf's fate appears to reveal price for her support

Scotland's first minister says he will fight a vote in his leadership and is "very confident" of winning. Listen to this week's episode of the Electoral Dysfunction podcast while you scroll through the latest updates.

Friday 26 April 2024 18:00, UK

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• Yousaf tells Sky News he'll 'fight' vote of no-confidence and is optimistic of winning
• MSP who could decide his fate seems to have named price for her support
• Connor Gillies:  First minister must reset relations with very people he's burned bridges with
• Explained: How did we get here - and what happens next?
• Coming up on Sunday: PM sits down with Trevor Phillips
• Latest  Electoral Dysfunction podcast explores what next week's local elections will bring
• Sam Coates explains why they matter
• Live reporting by Charlotte Chelsom-Pill

Rishi Sunak  sits down this Sunday with Trevor Phillips for a wide-ranging interview ahead of the local elections.

With the Rwanda bill becoming law this week and the PM announcing a commitment to increase defence spending, there's been plenty to talk about.

You can watch it in full from 8.30am on Sunday .

Trevor will also be joined by Labour's shadow health secretary Wes Streeting .

Embattled Humza Yousaf has told Sky News he will not resign as Scotland's first minister.

Pressure has been building on  the SNP leader  after he tore up the power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens - prompting a no-confidence motion in his leadership and a threatened knife-edge vote.

However, Mr Yousaf, on a visit to Dundee that was arranged at short notice after he pulled out of a speech in Glasgow, insisted he was getting on with the job and accused the opposition of "playing games".

He said he would be writing to the leaders of all Scottish political parties to seek talks on making a minority government work.

He told Sky's Scotland correspondent Connor Gillies : "I intend absolutely to fight that vote of no confidence, I've got every intention of winning that vote of no confidence.

"And let me say to the opposition for minority government to work in the interest of the people of Scotland also requires the opposition to act in good faith."

Humza Yousaf's future as first minister is hanging in the balance ahead of a motion of no confidence next week.

Now, as leader of a minority government, his fate may be hanging on just one vote - that of a former SNP leadership rival. 

We take a look at how:

The numbers

In the Scottish parliament, the SNP has 63 seats out of 129 , two short of an outright majority;

The Conservatives have  31;

Labour has 22;

The Greens have  seven;

The Liberal Democrats have four;

The Alba Party has one ;

There is also one presiding officer Alison Johnstone, who is both an MSP and Scotland's equivalent of the Commons speaker.

How the numbers are expected to fall

The motion of no confidence was brought by the Scottish Conservatives.

The Greens, Labour and the Lib Dems have all said they are backing the motion.

That would translate into 64 votes against the first minister versus 63 SNP votes.

So the one Alba vote is expected to be key.

How it may all come down to one ... Ash Regan

Once an SNP leadership rival to Mr Yousaf, Ash Regan defected to Alex Salmond's Alba Party last October. 

If she backs Mr Yousaf then that would mean both sides have 64 votes.

Ms Johnstone would then be expected to vote in favour of the status quo, so the first minister would survive.

But if Ms Regan votes against Mr Yousaf, then the opposition parties will have 65 votes against the SNP's 63, and the first minister would lose.

He wouldn't be compelled to resign in this situation, but he'd be under huge pressure to step aside.

More to come

And remember, Scottish Labour have lodged a separate motion of no confidence in the Scottish government. 

Alba have said it won't back that motion.

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf is battling to save his job as he faces a knife-edge no-confidence vote.

The SNP leader triggered a crisis at Holyrood after he dramatically brought the power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens to an end.

The backlash has plunged Mr Yousaf's future into doubt, although party colleagues insist he will not resign.

How did we get here?

The Bute House Agreement - signed back in 2021 and named after the first minister's official residence in Edinburgh - brought the Green Party into government for the first time anywhere in the UK.

It gave the SNP a majority at Holyrood when the votes of its MSPs were combined with those of the seven Green members, and also made Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater junior ministers.

Without it, the SNP would need to have operated as a minority administration at Holyrood.

What caused the relationship to sour?

There had been mounting tensions between the largest party at Holyrood and their junior partners in government.

The Greens were angered at the SNP-led administration's recent decision to ditch a key climate change target.

That, combined with the decision to pause the prescription of new puberty blockers to under-18s at at Scotland's only gender clinic, resulted in the Greens announcing they would have a vote on the future of the power-sharing deal. 

Read more here:

The 2 May local elections will see more than 2,600 seats at stake across 107 English councils.

Labour's Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham are among the 10 mayors up for re-election.  

Those in Blackpool South will also be voting for their next MP after ex-Tory Scott Benton broke Commons lobbying rules, triggering a by-election.  

With the Conservatives lagging behind Labour in the polls, the outcome will offer some insight on how voters in England and Wales feel ahead of the general election.

On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by deputy political editor Sam Coates to discuss why the elections are so important for the prime minister's future and where the key political backgrounds are.

By Daniel Dunford , senior data journalist

There might not be a general election just yet, but there are important votes that will define how the areas around us are run for the next four years. 

See what's happening where you are here:

With the local elections less than a week away, deputy political editor Sam Coates explains why they matter and what they might tell us about the upcoming general election.

Ash Regan - the MSP who could decide the future of Humza Yousaf - has appeared to name her price for her support in next week's no-confidence vote.

She has said, in a letter to Alba Party members, that investment in the Grangemouth refinery will be a key condition of her backing the first minister.

The refinery is currently due to shut as early as next year and move to being an import and export terminal.

Alba has launched a a campaign to sustain jobs at the refinery.

"A sign of good faith would be a significant government investment, reinforcing the campaign to save the Grangemouth refinery from closure," she says in her letter.

"I am requesting the undertaking to produce such an initiative in the early course.

"I am hopeful that the first minister will commit to such an initiative in the near future as a sign of our shared dedication to Scotland's welfare."

Ms Regan was once part of the SNP and ran in the contest to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as leader last year, the contest Mr Yousaf won.

She defected to Alex Salmond's Alba Party in October. 

The battle for a town that no one there wants.

Sky News is reporting from Grimsby in the run-up to the general election as one of its Target Towns - a key constituency prized by both Conservatives and Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes.

But it turns out that Grimsby doesn't really want them.

It hasn't always been a town doused in apathy. 

In 2016, 70% of people here voted to leave the EU - one of the highest results in the country - and in the 2019 election, the constituency turned Tory for the first time since the Second World War.

But five years on, polling by Sky News found that since then, the number of people saying they "almost never" trust the British government to place the needs of the nation above the interests of their own party has nearly doubled - from 26% to 49%.

It's a stark but bleak view. Voters described both leaders as uninspiring and uninteresting.

When asked what they make of the current prime minister, words like "weak" and "performative" were used. 

Voters couldn't make their minds up about the Labour leader, saying they were unsure about him or his policies.

The lack of a clear dividing line between the two parties could be a problem in the general election, especially as both parties have been trying to show a bit more leg this week ahead of a fully-fledged election campaign.

Labour has shown a hint of more radical policies, with their announcement on aiming to nationalise railways within five years. 

But have they waited a bit too long to impress the people of Grimsby?

The Conservatives ratified their Rwanda policy into law, but voters here weren't hugely enthused by that either, with one member of the audience tonight proclaiming they care much more about housing and the environment. 

They asked - why is the centre of political debate about Rwanda and a policy we don't really care about?

Apathy might override this election.

By  Jennifer Scott , political reporter

Voters in Grimsby - one of Sky News's election Target Towns - have been offering their views on politics, politicians and "broken promises".

The electoral battle in Grimsby and Cleethorpes,  the Target Towns , will be fierce. Labour will need an 11.7 point swing to win this newly-merged constituency back from the Conservatives.

In 2019, residents in Grimsby voted Tory for the first time since the end of the Second World War. The old Cleethorpes constituency was always more of a bellwether, having voted Conservative since 2010.

However, it has shed some of its rural, Conservative-voting residents in the merger.

Speaking on the  Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge , small business owner Shannon said she might not vote in the next general election later this year as she "just can't trust anything anybody says".

She said she has felt this way since Brexit - something Grimsby was overwhelmingly in support of - because "we were promised 'x' and 'y' and it hasn't happened, so I'm just totally disengaged from it".

Asked whether local MPs on the panel - Conservative Lia Nici and Labour's Melanie Onn - could change her mind, Shannon said "possibly", but reiterated how let down local people feel.

"We're promised a lot, but it's never delivered," she said. "Talk of things happening... and then it doesn't happen and people are just fed up... have been told this is what we're going to get, but it doesn't actually happen. And that's why people have just lost faith."

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Packers fans weren't thinking what GM Brian Gutekunst was thinking for first draft pick

GREEN BAY – Green Bay Packers fans should never be surprised when General Manager Brian Gutekunst surprises them.

Exhibit A this year is left tackle Jordan Morgan of Arizona, who the Packers nabbed with the 25th pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. It was clear the Packers were not conflicted. They made their pick before much of their 10 minutes expired. Offensive linemen were flying off the board Thursday, as were quarterbacks, so the other positions the Packers most want to fill might still have players they want in the later rounds.

That's how Jim Henaman of Knowlton sees it. "Absolutely," emailed Henaman, who was in Minnesota with buddies from the Owen-Withee area to watch the draft. "The group feels the pick is a good value pick. There is some disbelief they didn’t go defense, but if he works out, he can protect (quarterback Jordan) Love's blind side for a long time! There are still several strong defensive impact players on the board."

That doesn't mean Packers fans who were hoping for Cooper DeJean, a defensive back, or a linebacker, were in accord with Gutekunst's thinking.

"This draft lined up perfectly to take DeJean for his secondary and special teams excellence. Then hit linebacker and offensive round in round two. Nothing against Jordan Morgan, but we lost our bearings," wrote Andrew Larsen of Rockford, Ill. "Missed out on a playmaker and reached there."

More: Packers pick Arizona tackle Jordan Morgan at No. 25 of the 2024 NFL draft. Our instant scouting report

More: Who the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings picked in first round of 2024 NFL draft

Steve Schumer of Gillette, N.J., a member of the Packers FAN Hall of Fame, also thought DeJean would be the Packers' initial pick.

"The prevailing thought process was with the depth of this offensive line class, Packers take the versatile and playmaking DeJean in the first round, grab an offensive lineman in the second," Schumer said. "On the other hand, just as surprising was that the Packers had their choice of Morgan, Graham Barton of Duke and Tyler Guyton of Oklahoma. The fact they chose Morgan over both those highly-thought-of players speaks volumes how highly they had Morgan rated."

At Lambeau Field, 1919 Kitchen & Tap, was unusually free of draft watchers Thursday, but Jason Schmieden of Elkhorn and Josh Erskine of Delavan were in Neenah for a bowling tournament and drove up to Lambeau for dinner and the draft.

"We thought, what kind of experience would it be to be in the house (Lambeau) when the pick is made?" Erskine said.

From where they were sitting, they could look out at the Lambeau Field parking lot, to one of places where the NFL Draft stage might be located for next year's draft, and imagine NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell looking back in their direction when announcing the next pick.

Green Bay will host the NFL Draft April 24-26, 2025, at Lambeau Field.

Like the others, Schmieden and Erskine did not expect the Packers' pick to be Jordan Morgan, but "In Gutey we have learned to trust," Schmieden said.

"I thought offensive line needed to be beefed up a little. We were talking about that earlier," Schmieden said. "They have to go with corner back (next). I don't think Cooper (DeJean) is going to be there."

The Packers will have four picks in rounds two and three. After picking 25th on Thursday, the Packers have picks 41, 58, 88 and 91 on Friday. Erskine said safety and middle linebacker were big needs.

Henaman and his guys, who were spending their 22nd draft together, also were thinking defensive backs and linebackers, with the exception of Ryan Looker of Fall Creek, who said before the pick, "I feel they will lean into an offensive tackle."

Henaman said the Packers this year did not have "burning hot, must-have needs," but everyone agreed defense could be shored up.

"I feel we need linebackers, but there doesn’t seem to be someone that is a must-have in the first round. I would say if he’s there, Kool-Aid (McKinstry of Alabama) would be a good fit. Trading down is also an option," said Hutch Ruggles of Eau Claire

Rob Weideman of Knoxville, Tenn., and Chad Shillinger of Prior Lake, Minn., would like game-changing defensive players. "A player that can instantly bolster the run defense," Shillinger said, while Weideman was hoping for someone with explosive speed.

Larsen tried to suss out Gutekunst's thinking. "To take Morgan at 25, I have to believe they think he can play left tackle. That would allow Rasheed Walker to move to right tackle and Zach Tom to center. I have to believe that's their long-term bet in taking Morgan at 25."

João Storer, watching the draft from Brazil, where the Packers will open the 2024 season in São Paulo against the Philadelphia Eagles, said, "About Morgan, I think that’s a fair pick, very Gutekunstesque. Those 6 QB (picks) were awesome for teams that don’t need them."

Whatever his calculation, Gutekunst has earned some leeway because of his previous successful drafts, especially last year's, which propelled the Packers to an unexpected 9-7 season and playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys, and near victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

"Bottom line for me:  Building a stronger offensive line around your young franchise QB is never a bad strategy," Schumer said. "And at the end of the day, Gutekunst has earned the right with the excellent roster he’s assembled to have our support on Morgan being the right choice."

Contact Richard Ryman at  [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at  @RichRymanPG,  on Instagram at  @rrymanPG  or on Facebook at  www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG

I was LinkedIn's first head of HR. PIPs don't work — there's a better way to help struggling employees.

• Steve Cadigan has led HR teams at top companies for over three decades.
• He has seen how performance-improvement plans (PIPs) often fracture relationships between managers and employees. 
• The better alternative to PIPs allows employees to mutually agree to separate from the company.

Over the past three decades, I've witnessed various approaches to performance-improvement plans (PIPs) as an HR executive across five different industries and three countries.

Often, the traditional approach to PIPs — slapping them on employees who are underperforming without offering sufficient support — can feel punitive rather than constructive to many employees, fostering an environment of fear and mistrust.

But PIPs often fail to achieve their intended outcomes for a variety of reasons — from inadequately prepared managers to breakdowns in communication between managers and employees to subjective judgments of performance .

In my experience, the primary reason for the failure of PIPs lies in the irreparable fracture they create in the relationship between the employee and manager. Once the PIP process begins, this fracture in trust is seldom repaired. The atmosphere becomes palpably tense, and trust begins to erode.

PIPs lead to an irreparable fracture in the relationship

Recent stories of employees feeling unfairly targeted and demoralized and complaints of mishandling of PIPs have illuminated the complexities and challenges inherent in performance management.

These stories serve as cautionary tales, highlighting the potential pitfalls of traditional PIPs and the need for organizations to rethink their approach to managing underperformance.

Even if an employee successfully meets the objectives outlined in the PIP, the underlying tension and strain on the relationship often persist, adversely impacting productivity and morale not only for the manager and the employee, but for the entire team.

Related stories

I've rarely seen managers more tense than when addressing a PIP. These conditions don't set the stage for a productive process. At their core, PIPs should reflect an organization's commitment to achieving high performance. They should identify areas for improvement, set clear expectations, and provide a roadmap for progress.

A better approach involves choice

From 1998 to 2004, I was an HR executive at Cisco Systems, where I encountered a novel approach to the traditional PIP process.

Prior to my arrival, Cisco had recognized that something was broken in the PIP process. The HR team conducted a thorough analysis of PIPs across the company and made a fascinating discovery: most individuals placed on a PIP left the company within a year , regardless of whether their performance improved.

They spoke with many of the employees who survived their PIP and improved their performance yet still chose to leave, and the story they heard had a similar refrain. The employees felt their managers did not really support them, they no longer felt they were in a safe work environment, and many felt humiliated and deeply hurt by the process.

Looking at the data and listening to employees, the HR team developed a new approach that involved choice. Employees who were not performing to an acceptable level were offered two options:

Enter a PIP and try to improve, or

Mutually agree to separate from the company and receive more severance than they would if they failed the PIP.

By presenting employees with this alternative path, Cisco empowered them to make decisions aligned with their personal circumstances. This approach also alleviated stress for managers, enabling them to focus on other priorities. The conversations became more constructive, and employees appreciated being given a choice rather than feeling cornered into a dead-end PIP.

Challenge conventional practices

In the years since leaving Cisco, I've introduced this alternative approach to other organizations, contributing to healthier cultures and more constructive environments .

Performance evaluation is inherently subjective, and no process can eliminate all conflicts or unexpected reactions. However, offering employees a choice rather than a one-way ticket to a PIP can lead to more positive outcomes and healthier work environments.

As HR professionals and organizational leaders, it's our responsibility to challenge conventional practices and explore innovative solutions. By rethinking performance management and embracing alternative approaches, we can create a culture of trust, transparency, and continuous improvement where both employees and organizations thrive.

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They were promised jobs in Russia. They ended up fighting in Ukraine.

SRINAGAR, India — Across India , families are hearing similar stories from men who went abroad in search of work: They were lured to Russia with promises of jobs as cooks or housekeepers, only to find themselves forced to fight alongside the Russian military in its war against Ukraine .

Some families, frustrated by what they say is a lack of support from the Indian government, say they feel they have no choice but to travel to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to get their loved ones back.

“For months, the families have been awaiting government action to bring the Indian citizens back home, but so far no progress has been made,” Raja Begum, 65, told NBC News last month as she sat in the yard of her two-story home in Poshwan, a village in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Begum’s son Azad Yousuf Kumar, 31, left India for the United Arab Emirates in December. She said he had been promised a housekeeping job in Dubai by a consultant there identified as Faisal Khan, who often advertised such jobs on his YouTube channel, Baba Vlogs. In exchange for the job, Kumar paid a fee of 300,000 rupees, or $3,600, she said.

Once Kumar arrived, however, “he was informed that there were no available jobs in the UAE,” said Begum, who has been exchanging voice messages with him. Kumar told his mother that Khan said he could still get a job in another country, and convinced him to travel to Russia to work in a kitchen.

Instead, Begum said, Kumar was sent to a military training center in Moscow as soon as he landed. There he underwent 15 days of weapons training along with several other men from India and Nepal before being deployed to fight against Ukrainian forces on the front lines, Begum said, having been forced to sign a contract in a language he did not understand.

“My son had received injuries during the training period,” Begum said. “He was not allowed to have a proper rest and instead was sent close to the border where a deadly battle was going on.”

Kumar’s older brother, Sajad Ahmad Kumar, said Kumar told him that at least a dozen men from India had been trapped in a similar manner by people affiliated with the Baba Vlogs account, which had more than 350,000 subscribers as recently as February but has since been deleted. 

Attempts by NBC News to contact Khan and the Baba Vlogs team for comment were unsuccessful.

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation said last month that it was aware of at least 35 Indian nationals who had been trained for combat and sent to fight in Ukraine against their will after being recruited for jobs in Russia through agents or social media. Some of them have been “grievously injured,” the agency said.

The agency said it had arrested 35 people on suspicion of being involved in human trafficking , and that it had seized about 50 million rupees ($600,000) in cash as well as incriminating documents and electronic records in searches around the country. 

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said officials were doing their best to get the men home as soon as possible.

“We have also told people not to venture in the war zone or get caught into situations which are difficult,” ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, adding that India was in regular touch with Russian authorities in New Delhi and Moscow and was deeply committed to the “welfare of all Indians.”

India has ties with both Russia and the West and has tried to remain neutral in the Ukraine war, calling for peace talks while refraining from condemning President Vladimir Putin ’s invasion. It has also increased purchases of Russian oil that is steeply discounted amid Western sanctions.

Sajad Ahmad Kumar said his brother and others are now in Russian-occupied Ukraine after crossing the Black Sea under the command of two officers from the Russian army.

“Things have eased a bit for them,” he said. “He used to call from someone’s phone but now he has got his own connection.” 

He said Kumar and several other Indians had approached their embassy in Moscow for help getting home but that officials there “are not taking things seriously.”

The Indian Embassy in Moscow did not respond to requests for comment.

At least two Indian citizens have been killed while fighting alongside the Russian army on the Russia-Ukraine border. They were identified last month as Hemil Ashvinbhai Mangukiya and Mohammad Asfan, from the states of Gujarat and Telangana.

Mangukiya’s father, Ashvinbhai Mangukiya, said his son had been hired as a helper for the Russian army.

“He was supposed to be stationed at Moscow, but he was forced to participate in the ongoing war between the two nations,” he said. 

Mangukiya went to Russia to collect his son’s body after he was killed in the Donetsk region in February. Like others, he has filed cases with the police against Khan and others associated with Baba Vlogs.

“Baba Vlogs is running a nexus,” he said. “The government should take cognizance and arrest all individuals involved in this criminal activity.”

Abdul Rouf, whose son Abdul Nayeem left for Russia in December, said he had spoken to Khan and others at Baba Vlogs when Nayeem, 30, told him they had gotten him a similar job as an army helper in Russia when he approached them in Dubai.

“The job agent assured me that he will not be handed a gun to fight in Ukraine or anywhere else,” said Rouf, a resident of Gulbarga city in the Indian state of Karnataka. His son has since told him that he is in Ukraine, and Rouf is planning to travel to Russia to try to help him.

Mohammad Mustafa, another Karnataka resident whose son is stranded in Russian-occupied Ukraine, said he was tired of waiting for news and was going to Russia himself.

“We can go to any extent to retrieve our children,” he said. 

“Two Indian citizens have already been killed and we don’t want to lose any other person.”

Muheet Ul Islam is a journalist and filmmaker based in Indian-administered Kashmir.

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