Friends struggling for survival in Kharkiv: Returnee

Archit Watts

Muktsar, February 28

A Ukraine returnee Gurkirat Singh, who belongs to neighbouring Udekaran village here, said his friends were scared and crying for evacuation from war-torn Kharkiv but were getting no help.

“When I was about to board the evacuation flight for India from Hungary, I spoke to some of my friends stuck in Kharkiv. They were literally crying for help. I am, however, helpless. I appeal to the Centre to make some arrangements for their early evacuation as the situation is quite tense in Kharkiv and Kyiv. Students there are now living in groups and struggling for survival,” said Gurkirat Singh, a fifth-year MBBS student at Uzhhorod National University in Zakarpattia Oblast. The situation in this town located close to the Hungary border is currently normal.

He said, “When our buses had to cross over to Hungary from Ukraine, a number of vehicles were stranded there. However, we got special treatment and were allowed to cross over the border out of turn. We are thankful to our government for evacuating us. However, now it seems politics has a role in the evacuation of the Indians from Ukraine as nobody is hurting us at the border. There is no requirement of getting the visa and passports were stamped while exiting Ukraine and entering Hungary.”

Gurkirat further said, “Our University authorities were so cooperative. They provided us a safe place to leave our belongings there. Besides, just a day ago they had told us that the classes will be held online. Once the situation normalises, I will definitely go there to complete my degree. Nearly 500 Indian students from my university are still there.”

Meanwhile, some families claimed their children told them that the situation had slightly improved in Kyiv and Kharkiv today. “A student from Muktsar district stuck in Kyiv said the authorities there had told them to move to safer places by boarding trains and try reaching close to Poland and other countries. Similarly, those who had taken shelter at the Metro stations in Kharkiv returned to their apartments as the situation was slightly better,” said Ranjeet Singh and Anil Pasricha, parents of two stranded students.

Another arrival expected today

Another youth from Udekaran village, Simarpreet Singh, a third-year MBBS student at the Uzhhorod National University, is also expected to return to India on Tuesday. His father Sukhdev Singh said, “My son just told me that he along with many students was about to board a bus to cross over to Hungary. He is expected to board the flight for Delhi on Tuesday.”