Telangana worker killed, another injured in Russian strike in Ukraine | Hyderabad News
Hyderabad: A construction worker from Telangana was killed in a Russian missile attack in Ukraine on Sept 1 — just a month after he narrowly escaped a similar strike. The deceased, identified as Vavilala Sudarshan from Husnabad village in Jagtial district, was among 12 people killed in Russia’s overnight air attacks on Ukraine’s Kyiv and surrounding regions. Another man from the state, 35-year-old Ganesh Kalleda, was also injured in the incident.According to family members, 42-year-old Sudarshan had travelled to Ukraine with a relative around four months ago after an agent assured him a job paying Rs 90,000 a month — a substantial jump from the Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 he was earning in his village. Sudarshan had paid Rs 6 lakh to the agent.“My brother found work in the construction sector there but the pay was around Rs 70,000. So, after a missile fell hardly two km from where he was staying about a month ago, he decided to come back,” said Naveen, Sudarshan’s cousin. “He even called us to say that he’d stay there for another four months, earn enough money to clear his debts and get back home.”In fact, even Sudarshan’s elder daughter had been asking him to return, as she was preparing for a constable job and was willing to help him financially, his cousin said.However, tragedy struck on Monday, when Sudarshan was killed in a missile strike in Odesa on Sept 1, just as he was leaving his accommodation following an air-raid warning.The family learnt of Sudarshan’s death later that afternoon.Village residents said the family had pinned their hopes on him. “His untimely death has come as a shock to his family, that is drowning in debts,” said Damma Malla Reddy, a resident of the same village. He helped Sudarshan’s wife submit a petition to Pravasi Prajavani and the chief minister’s office seeking repatriation of his mortal remains and financial assistance for the family, which has debts of about Rs 10 lakh.Reddy said the family had also been struggling financially, with Sudarshan’s mother undergoing cancer treatment and his brother having suffered two brain strokes recently. Of his two daughters, one is in her second year of BSc and the other is in the first year of intermediate.Confirming the incident, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine said it was providing all possible assistance to Sudarshan’s family.“We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of an Indian national in an attack in Ukraine. The Embassy is in touch with the bereaved family and extends its deepest condolences. We are providing all possible assistance for early repatriation of the mortal remains. In this regard, the Embassy is in contact with his company and the Ukrainian authorities,” the embassy posted on X.
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