On Monday, a family in the state of Tamil Nadu was shocked to know that their elder son is a part of the Ukrainian Army and is fighting for the country against Russia. Amid the ongoing conflict between the two countries, the intelligence reports submitted to the Centre and State revealed that a 21-year-old boy from Tamil Nadu had joined the Army of Ukraine after he couldn’t make it to the Indian Army due to his short height.
According to the reports, Sainikhesh Ravichandran is an aerospace engineering student and a resident of Subramaniyampalayam in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The intelligence officers visited his house two days ago to meet his parents to know the probable reason behind their son joining the Army in Ukraine.
The family members of Sainikhsesh said that they were themselves shocked to know that their son had taken up the arms for Ukraine. Sainikhesh had earlier tried to join the Indian Army twice but was rejected both the times due to his short height. He had also approached the US embassy in Chennai to know whether if he could be a part of the American Army. When he got to know he could not join the US Army either, he took up a professional course at National Aerospace University in Kharkiv in year 2018. He later informed his family to have attained a part time job in a video gaming development company.
His family friend told to the TOI that his family all the time kept on thinking that their son was having a normal life all these years, pursuing professional studies but were worried when they came to know about a media report that revealed that a boy from Tamil Nadu had joined the Ukrainian forces.
Sainikhesh had recently visited the India in 2021 and had stayed for about a month and a half. He would also stay in touch with the relatives and his family friends through phone calls but went out of reach for almost four days after the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out. The intelligence officers in the report mentioned that they found portraits of soldiers all over his room.
Sainikhesh had always wanted to join the Army and be a soldier. He, after completing his 12th made several attempts to join the Indian Army but couldn’t make it. After he went to Ukriane, his family had tried to convince him to come back to India and do something else here, but he refused. The family recently sent an email to the Indian Embassy in Ukraine to know about Sainikhesh. The Embassy connected them both where the Sainikhesh expressed his desire to continue to be a part of the paramilitary force.
According to the reports, Sainikhesh is currently a part of Georgian National Legion paramilitary unit comprising of volunteers. The family now plans to seek help from the officials in the state and Centre to get their son back.
The war between Russia and Ukraine broke out on February 24 after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced military aggression. The Indian government has undertaken a special evacuation operation named ‘Operation Ganga’ to get back all the Indian nationals who are stuck in Ukraine. Several special flights have been running from Poland, Romania, and Hungary to bring the students home. Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, and SpiceJet have joined the Operation Ganga mission operating multiple flights from Ukraine’s neighboring countries to Delhi and Mumbai.
As per the latest information released by the Ministry of External Affairs, around 13,300 Indians have been brought back to India under Operation Ganga by 63 flights. Over 21,000 people have left Ukraine.
