New Delhi: A 23-year-old man from Gujarat was killed in a Ukrainian air strike in the Donetsk region on the Russia-Ukraine border on February 21.
Identified as Hemil Ashvinbhai Mangukiya, the Surat resident was hired as a security helper by the Russian Army and had been in Russia since December 2023.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials claimed they had not been informed about this incident.
An agent had written to the Indian consulate on behalf of Mangukiya’s father earlier this month asking for help in bringing him back home, the Hindu reported.
This comes in the wake of reports suggesting that over a 100 Indian nationals may have been recruited as security helpers by the Russian Army and some of them were being forced to fight alongside Russian forces despite assurances that they wouldn’t be sent to the war zone.
Sameer Ahmad, a resident of Karnataka’s Gulbarga, said that Mangukiya was struck by missiles during an attack. “We saw a drone hovering above us. I was digging a trench and Hemil was practising how to fire, around 150 metres away. Suddenly we heard some noise. I and two other Indians, along with other Russian soldiers, hid in the trench. The missiles struck and the earth shook. After some time when we got out, I found Hemil dead. I was the one who put his body in the truck,” he told the Hindu.
A photograph of Mangukiya’s body, showing injuries and blood-soaked clothes, was shared by another Indian worker.
“In all, there were four Indians including Hemil who were part of the group that came under attack on February 21. Hemil was very close to the Russian military commander and they trusted him. They did not make him do menial work. The air strike happened when the trench was being dug up. A Nepalese was also among those killed,” another Indian worker was quoted by the paper as saying.
An email sent on behalf of Mangukiya’s father to the Indian consulate on February 2 urged the government to arrange for his son’s return citing the risk to his life.
The Union government on Friday said that it had approached Russian authorities for the “early discharge” of Indians working with the Russian Army.
The Indian nationals who had come forward alleging mistreatment said that their pleas for help from the Indian Embassy in Moscow had gone unheard.
Ahmad said, “We came together from India. Hemil died in front of me. We fear that they may send us to the border and we will also be left to die. When we ask the Russian commander to relieve us, he said we have signed a contract. The commander said we will get Hemil’s body after two months. Please save us.
Another worker was quoted by the paper saying, “We were hired as army security helpers but they are forcing us to fight on the Russia-Ukraine border. We fear for our safety and security. Despite repeated pleas and requests, the government is not doing anything to rescue us.”