On the evening of February 20, Ashwin Mangukiya received a WhatsApp call from his son Hemil, who was stationed in a military dormitory in Donetsk, Ukraine, which is currently under Russian occupation. Hemil, 23, assured his family that he was in good health and had adequate provisions, but Ashwin sensed that his son was struggling internally with the situation he was in. Despite Hemil’s attempt to sound positive, Ashwin could tell that his son was grappling with emotions he was trying to conceal. Hemil’s role in the conflict was far removed from what he had initially signed up for as a Russian “army helper”. The call lasted an hour that night, as Hemil expressed a deep yearning for home that was palpable to his father. Tragically, that call would be the final conversation between father and son. Two days later, Ashwin and his family received devastating news from a man named Imran from Telangana, India, who informed them that Hemil had been killed in a missile strike on February 21 while he was working on a bunker. The news shattered their world, leaving Hemil’s mother in a state of shock and grief that led to her hospitalization and silence for days. Imran shared the heartbreaking details of how three Indians transported Hemil’s body to a military base after his death, but beyond that, Ashwin was left with unanswered questions about the circumstances surrounding his son’s passing. The pain of losing Hemil in such a tragic manner was compounded by the uncertainty and lack of closure surrounding his death.