Tamil Nadu youth joins Ukranian army to fight against Russia

Coimbatore: After his hopes of joining the Indian Army were dashed, a 21-year old youth from the city has enlisted with the Ukrainian army to fight against the invading Russian troops.

The matter came to light when some central intelligence officials visited the house of Sainikesh Ravichandran in Thudiyalur near here a few days ago to collect his details.

The Indian Army had reportedly rejected Sainikesh twice due to his height. He had even approached the US consulate to join the American armed forces, but to no avail, police said.

Sainikesh’s parents told the authorities that he was pursuing Aerospace engineering in war-hit Ukraine and had landed a job at a video game developing company a few days before the war broke out there.

The distraught parents have appealed to the union government to trace and bring Sainikhesh back to India, as he was unwilling to return home, they added.

Sainikhesh was pursuing Aerospace engineering course in the National Aerospace University in Kharkiv since 2018 and had joined the Georgian National Legion consisting of paramilitary unit volunteers and fighting against Russia.