Cremation of four Indians martyred in Russia-Ukraine war with uniform and tricolor, know the whole painful story

Azamgarh. The Russia-Ukraine war not only snatched away their young sons from four families of Azamgarh and Mau, but they could not even get the right to bid farewell to their dear ones. When even the dead body or remains could not be found, the families performed the last rites of their sons with full rituals, considering the military uniform, cap, badge, Russian flag and death certificate brought from Russia as the last memento of their sons. Whoever saw this heart-wrenching scene, his eyes became moist.

How did the youth reach Russia?

Yogendra Yadav, Dhirendra Kumar and Arvind Kumar of Azamgarh were introduced by Vinod Yadav of Mau to Delhi agent Sumit in the name of getting them a job abroad. According to family members, all four were sent to Russia in January 2024 on the pretext of jobs as plumbers and security guards, but after reaching there, they were forcibly recruited into the Russian Army and thrown on the war front against Ukraine. During the war, Yogendra and Vinod died in Zaporizhia, Ukraine, while Arvind and Dhirendra died in Luhansk.

Jagdeep became the link of hope

Jagdeep Kumar, a resident of Jalandhar, emerged as a link of hope in this tragic saga. His brother had also gone to Russia for work and was killed in the war. After huge efforts in January 2026, he was successful in bringing his brother’s body to India. Meanwhile, he received information from the Indian Embassy in Moscow about the death of four youths from Azamgarh and Mau. When the bodies were not available, the embassy handed over the uniform, cap, badge, Russian flag and death certificate of the four to Jagdeep.

This is how the funeral took place

Jagdeep reached Azamgarh on Friday with these last remains and took the information from the Collectorate and sent it to the concerned families. Yogendra’s family performed the last rites on Friday, while Dhirendra, Arvind and Vinod’s families performed the last rites on Saturday, considering the uniform and flag as symbols of their son. Yogendra’s younger brother Ashish told that he last spoke to his brother on phone in May 2024, later information was received that his body was completely destroyed in the explosion, hence the body could not be found.

Demand for action against guilty agents

The family members demanded strict action against the agents who lured the youth into the war on the pretext of jobs and said that the culprits should be given such punishment so that in future no other family has to go through this unbearable pain. It is noteworthy that nine youths from Azamgarh and four from Mau had gone to Russia, out of which 11 have died so far and two are still reported missing.