Screenshot of video taken by students showing men with guns on the Sumy University campus. More than 400 Indian medical students who are stuck in Sumy University in Sumy, a northeastern city in Ukraine near the Russian border, have alleged that no help has come their way since the war broke out. The Indian embassy has asked them to stay put but the students wonder if the government has any evacuation plans for them.
Eight students from the university, through a video on social media, requested the Indian government to rescue them. One of them, Shaikh Namira, a Mumbai resident, is seen saying in the video: “We are stuck on the eastern side of Ukraine. We are surrounded by the Russian border on three sides and Kharkiv on one side. If we have to travel to the western border (where evacuation is carried out by the Indian government), it is not at all safe. Throughout the day bombardments and shelling are taking place on the eastern side and we are very unsafe.”
Mayuri Aher, 21, another medical student from Mumbai says in the video that they are staying on the first floor and every time they hear air raid sirens, they have to rush to the underground bunkers which do not have washrooms or toilet facilities or water to drink.
“We keep hearing artillery firing, gunshots and explosions. The electricity keeps getting disconnected,” says Mayuri.
Staying inside the cramped bunkers in temperatures falling below zero degree Celsus, health and hygiene have become major issues for the students. Also, they are running out of food supplies and money.
“We cannot step out to the grocery store to get supplies. Today morning we saw many snipers near our building and we were warned to stay away from the windows. We can be evacuated from the Russian border. We appeal to the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rescue us. Our parents are very worried and panicked. We cannot tell them much about our condition as they get scared,” added Namira.
Another student, Yamandeep from Kurukshetra, who is also stuck in Sumy said: “We spend several hours in the bunker and there is no cooking place or charging points or washroom facilities in the bunker. So please help us. Our ATM cards have been blocked. We cannot remove cash and ATMs have run out of cash.”
Follow Live Updates on Ukraine crisis
Mayuri’s elder sister Dr Priyanka Aher from Mumbai told The Indian Express: “I urge the Indian government to arrange an evacuation plan for them. The Indian embassy has communicated to them to stay in the university but they are not giving any further information on how or when they plan to evacuate them. The students are completely blank.”
The public transport is completely shut and if the students take the rise to come out, they run the risk of getting shot by the military or hit by an explosion. “The Indian embassy is evacuating students from the west and south-west borders like Poland and Romania. But to reach there, the students will have to undertake a 16-hour journey which involves passing through Kharkiv or Kyiv, which are under attack. The Russian border is near but we do not know if they will be allowed to pass,” added Aher.
“The students have been told that some of the roads and railway tracks have also been damaged. They can be evacuated only with the military’s assistance. Their university and coordinators also have no answer. The only relief came from Business International, a networking franchise, and local Ukrainians who provided them with food supply for the next few days,” added Gaurav Malvia, a family friend of the student.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
