The family of Sainikhesh Ravichandran, an Indian student who has joined a pro-Ukrainian militia—Georgian National Legion—are extremely worried and anguished.
Hailing from Coimbatore in southern Tamil Nadu state, Sainikhesh—a student at the National Aerospace University in Ukraine’s Kharkiv—is said to have volunteered to join the forces that are fighting against Russia.
When contacted his mother, Jhansi Lakshmi told WION that she last spoke to him around five days ago. However, she added that their family was extremely anguished and not in a position to divulge any further.
According to reports, Indian intelligence officials had recently visited the family’s residence near Thudiyalur in western Coimbatore district and apprised them of the boy having joined the Ukraine forces.
It is being claimed that the 21-year-old had been keen to join the Indian armed forces when he was in his home country. Even his social media profile shows pictures of personnel dressed in military combat gear, brandishing an assault rifle.
There are also other pictures doing the rounds on social media purportedly showing the Indian student posing with the Ukrainian forces, all dressed in military combat gear.
However, WION could not independently verify the authenticity of the pictures of the boy in military fatigues.
This development comes at a time when India continues to evacuate thousands of its students from war-torn Ukraine and its contiguous nations via special flights operated by both private carriers and the Indian Air Force.