How a 23-year-old from Gujarat landed in the Russia war zone and was killed

As the war in Ukraine enters its third, Indian nationals fighting for the Russian side are in the spotlight. Days after reports that some Indians were allegedly conned and sent to the frontline to work as “army security helpers”, now it has emerged that a 23-year-old man from Gujarat has been killed.

The man, identified as Hemil Ashvinbhai Mangukiya, was reportedly killed in an airstrike by Ukraine on 21 February in the Donetsk region on the Russia-Ukraine border. A resident of Surat, the young man was hired as a security helper by the Russian army and had been in Russia since December 2023.

The Ukrainian airstrike that killed Hemil

There was reportedly a group of Indians present on the battlefield when the Ukrainian army conducted the airstrike. The others who managed to escape informed that Hemil had died.

Hemil’s co-worker has been identified as Sameer Ahmad, a resident of Gulbarga in Karnataka. The two were on the field when the attack happened, according to a report in The Hindu.

Ahmad said he was digging a trench and Hemil was practising how to fire when they saw a drone hovering above. “Suddenly we heard some noise… Two other Indians along with some Russian soldiers hid in the trenches. The missile struck and the earth shook. After some time, when we got out, I found Hemil was dead,” Ahmad told The Hindu. He put the body in the truck.

Another Indian worker shared a photograph of the body with injuries on the face and skull. Hemil’s clothes were soaked in blood. The corpse was seen lying in what appeared like a truck piled up with bodies.

The slain Indian was reportedly close to the Russian commander and he was not made to do menial work, The Hindu reports.

Four Indians were part of the group that was attacked on 21 February. Another Nepalese worker also died, the report says. The exact details of the incident are unknown. However, BBC News reported two missile strikes in occupied eastern Ukraine in which at least 60 Russian troops were killed.

Also read: Were Indians duped by agents to fight for Russia in Ukraine war?

The Mangukiya family mourns

Hemil’s father wanted him to return home and an agent had written to the Indian consulate on behalf of his father.

The family did not know of Hemil’s death until two days later. Atul Mangukiya, the youth’s uncle, told The Times of India (ToI), “On 23 February, my brother Ashwinbhai received a call from Hemil’s friend who was working with him.”

Shocked, the family did not believe the news. But then they cross-checked and learnt it was true.

Hemil’s father has now requested the Indian government to talk to Russian authorities to get the body of his son. “We don’t even know where his body is and neither do we have any contact details of others to whom we can reach out to. We are helpless,” Ashwin told The Indian Express.

Hemil last spoke to his father, a day before he died on 20 February and said that he was fine. The family was reportedly unaware that he was working in the war zone on the Russia-Ukraine border. They believed he worked as a “helper” in Russia. “We had a talk with Hemil on the night of February 20 and he was all fine. When we asked him about what kind of work he was doing, he did not reveal much,” Ashwin was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

The family will hold a prayer meeting on Monday for Hemil in Varachha, a Patidar neighbourhood in Surat, where he grew up. The family hopes for the return of the body.

Also read: 2 years of Russia-Ukraine war: From fall of Avdiivka to firing of Zaluzhnyi

Hemil’s life in Surat

A few years ago, Hemil moved to the Velanja village in Surat’s Kamrej taluka with his parents. He also has a 21-year-old brother.

Hemil did not study after Class 12 and started a small embroidery business with his cousins. He later came in contact with agents through a website, who were offering jobs like “helpers and labourers” in Russia, reports The Indian Express.

According to his father, Hemil was offered the job of a helper with a monthly salary of Rs 2 lakh. He made his passport and then informed the family about it. The youth left for the war-hit country on 14 December and remained in touch with his parents regularly.

Ashwin told the newspaper that the family allowed Hemil to work abroad so that they would not face “financial constraints”. “He also wanted to earn more money so that he would save it for his marriage and start his own business in Surat,” the father said.

After working for a few days, Hemil was reportedly asked to sign a document in Russian and was later inducted into the warzone with a rifle. “He wanted to return and had spoken to his agents and senior officers in the Russian army but nobody listened, Ashwin told The Indian Express.

Also read: Two years on, the cost of Russia’s war in Ukraine

Indians fighting in Russia

Like Hemil, several other Indians have been working in Russia. Over the past year, at least 100 Indians were recruited by the Russian army at its recruitment centre in Moscow, The Hindu reported last week. While these are the statistics from Moscow, the actual number could be higher.

According to an Indian-origin official working for the Russian defence ministry, the recruits, who join as “army security helpers” are made aware of the risks of the job. They are paid Rs 1.95 lakh a month with additional benefits of Rs 50,000. These recruits reportedly sign a contract for a minimum of one year and they cannot leave or exit before a month.

Several media reports also said that at least three Indians claimed they were duped and forced to fight alongside the Russians in the war. They were reported from Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Several workers claim that they have approached the Indian embassy in Moscow, seeking the government’s help to return home.

Ahmad, who worked with Hemil told The Hindu, that the Indian embassy was not responding to their repeated pleas for help.

The Indian government’s response

The External Affairs Ministry on Monday rejected reports claiming that Indians in the Russian army were seeking help for discharge, adding that “each and every case” was taken up with Russian authorities.

“We have seen some inaccurate reports in the media regarding Indians with the Russian army seeking help for discharge,” the MEA said in a statement on Monday.

“Each and every such case brought to the attention of the Indian Embassy in Moscow has been strongly taken up with the Russian authorities and those brought to the attention of the Ministry have been taken up with the Russian Embassy in New Delhi. Several Indians have already been discharged as a result,” the ministry said. “We remain committed, as a matter of top priority, to actively pursuing with the Russian authorities all the relevant cases of Indian nationals for an early discharge from the Russian army.”

On Friday, the Indian government acknowledged that some Indians have been deployed in Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine and stated that the government is coordinating with its Russian counterpart to facilitate their release.

With inputs from agencies