19 august 2024 : A man hailing from Kerala, who was employed at a Russian military facility during the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, has tragically lost his life in a shelling incident, according to his family.
Sandeep, aged 36, was originally from Nayarangadi in the Trikkur panchayat of Thrissur district. He had traveled to Russia in April to take up a position at a restaurant.
“Two days ago, we received a notification from a Russian Malayali association indicating that an individual from Thrissur had perished in a shell attack. The message stated that the victim was working at a Russian military canteen… The association sought to confirm the identity of the deceased. Upon verifying the information, we discovered it was indeed Sandeep,” explained Sandeep’s cousin, Saran.
The family noted that they had recently lost communication with Sandeep.
“He informed us that he was working in Moscow and had sent home a month’s salary. After that, his contact with us became infrequent, and we learned he had been relocated from Moscow. Eventually, we found out he was at the military canteen, which was vulnerable to assaults from Ukrainian forces,” Saran added.
Sandeep was unmarried and is survived by his father, Chandran, and mother, Valsala, both of whom are agricultural laborers.
The family is currently seeking assistance from the Indian embassy in Russia to facilitate the repatriation of his remains to their home state.