International news: Indian youth dies in Ukraine missile attack

Moscow: A 23-year-old Indian has died in a missile attack in Russia. This 23-year-old youth was a resident of Gujarat and had joined the Russian Army as a security helper. A 23-year-old man from Gujarat, employed by the Russian military as a security assistant, was killed in the Ukrainian airstrike on February 21, said another Indian employee who escaped the attack. He was deployed in the Donetsk region on the Russia-Ukraine border. He was being trained to fire when a missile attack took place. The young man lost his life in this attack.

Hemil Ashvinbhai Mangukiya, a resident of Surat district, had gone to Russia in December 2023 and later joined the Russian Army. Earlier this month, Hamill’s father wrote a letter to the Indian Consulate asking for help in bringing him back home. Several other Indians on contract with the Russian Army have also approached the embassy. Indian Foreign Ministry officials have said that till now they have not been informed about this incident.

Had talked to father a day before his death
Hamill’s father told The Hindu that he had spoken to Hamill on February 20. He died just a day later. Sameer Ahmed of Karnataka told about the incident that at a distance of 150 meters from him, Hamill was practicing firing and firing missiles. When there was a sudden explosion, we hid in the trench. After some time, when we came out, we saw that Hamill had died. He had come under missile attack. After this we kept his body in the truck. He said that four Indians were part of the contingent which came under attack on February 21. A Nepalese civilian was also killed in this attack.