ILAM, Nov 30: Yankila Sherpa of Ilam Municipality-9 was shocked when she received unexpected information from her ward office. She looked at her seven-year-old son's face. She said, “No, I did not believe the news that was said to have been received through the Department of Consular Services.”

“When someone suddenly comes to tell you that your husband is no longer with us,”  she asked, “How many  wives can accept that?” It was finally confirmed that her husband, a 32-year-old Gangaram Moktan, was killed in Ukraine. This news was also confirmed by the Nepali Embassy in Moscow. Neither Yankila nor his family had imagined that this shocking news would come less than two months after joining the Russian army. The family is shocked since receiving the tragic news; the entire village is engulfed in silence.

On November 12, Yankila spoke to her husband for the last time. In a conversation through IMO, Gangaram had said, “After fighting for seven days in Ukraine, I have come to a safe place three hours away. Gangaram did not mention the name of the place where he had gone to fight. He only mentioned the border area. He added, “Again I have to go for a fight after resting for some days.” Before that, he was out of contact with his family for 12 days.

Gangaram's seven-year-old son, Palden Sherpa is studying in Grade 2. Palden refuses to go to school after hearing his father's sad news over and over again.

The embassy confirmed on November 15 that Moktan had died on 15 November. The embassy said it received his medical death certificate through a telegram from a Russian army official.

 
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