As Russian forces make their way in Ukraine, thousands of Indian students are scared for their lives and the uncertainty of it. As the civilians are unsure of their governance, the people wait for the war to be over.
The flights from Ukraine have been cancelled and the war is becoming tenser for Indian nationals stuck there. Around seven students from Ivano Frankivsk National Medical University made a video requesting the Indian government to help them.
“Russia has been bombing Ukraine since the morning, every 15 minutes a city is bombed,” said Divyanshu Ghelot, Indian Student President of Ivano Frankivsk. “The conditions are very poor and we plead for help and assistance from the Indian government to evacuate us,” he added.
The students of Ivano Krankivsk had flights scheduled for India which have been cancelled and they feel there is no other way out for them.
Basic amenities are not available in the country. “There is no availability of food and ATMs do not have money,” he said.
“We request the government that they evacuate us from here [Ukraine] as we are under immense risk,” said Manvi Bhargav, student of Ivano Frankivsk National Medical University.
“Basic facilities are not available anymore. Supermarkets have closed down due to the unavailability of food,” said Rutul Shukla who runs an immigration consultancy in Kyiv.
“We have currently shifted to suburbs around 30 km away from Kyiv as the basic amenities are not available in the capital. Supermarkets have closed down,” said Shukla.
“I am in touch with around 1000 students here [Ukraine] and I have asked them to follow the instructions of the Indian Embassy,” added Shukla. “We are informed that the Ukrainian government might surrender to end the war,” he said.
India has sent government teams to the land borders of Ukraine to help evacuate its nationals. Around 16,000 Indians including several students are stranded in the country that came under Russian attack on Thursday following President Vladimir Putin’s order of a special military operation.