Uncertainty, fear, panic and horror will not be enough to describe the helpless situation thousands of people in Ukraine have fallen into after the Russian invasion. The cry for help from the people in Ukraine seems to be getting louder with the sound of Russian footsteps approaching.
Among those stuck in Ukraine, the country that is putting up fierce resistance against gigantic Russia, are thousands of Indian students who are now left with limited means and are hoping to find a safe way out of the country.
Tabish Ali Siddiqui, an Indian medical student in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv city, told indiatoday.in that he, along with his friends, is taking shelter in an apartment, adding that the situation worsened Friday evening when Russian troops entered the area.
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Siddiqui said that they spent a sleepless night holed up in the basement of the apartment with water and basic food with sounds of airstrikes, firing, fighter jets and tanks roaming nearby making sure to keep them up in horror.
“We are scared,” Siddiqui said, while making an appeal to the Indian government to come to their rescue as soon as possible, saying that they have very limited supplies left.
“Students won’t be able to manage for many days now. We have limited supplies left. We will be out of food and water in a few days and we cannot go on like this for long,” Siddiqui, a resident of UP’s Ghaziabad said.
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“I request Prime Minister Narendra Modi sir to help us, to get us out of here, to get us back to our home country,” he said.
He added that the situation is getting worse day by day with cities being invaded by Russian forces one after another and also said that there is no transportation to reach the borders.
Siddiqui, however, was hopeful as he said, “I trust my government, I trust my country and I would like to get back there as soon as possible”.
Siddqui also shared an audio clip with indiatoday.in that recorded nonstop firing going on at a distance from where he has taken shelter.
‘University didn’t let us leave, calling was news fake’
Siddiqui said that they sought permission from the university to let them leave for their home countries and shift the classes online when reports of Russia-Ukraine tension began to crop up, adding that the university, however, denied permission, calling the reports “fake” .
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“On February 15, the Indian embassy issued the first advisory and asked students and Indian nationals whose purpose of stay is “non essential” to leave Ukraine. We kept asking [the university] and got the same response. The final advisory [from India] before the invasion was on February 19. In that, the embassy told us that because we are getting a huge number of calls and mails from students, you should leave Ukraine. They didn’t pressurize university to shift the education online as students were scared they will have to deal with academic losses [sic],” Siddiqui said.
He added: After the final advisory, we went to the university again. They said that first and third year students can’t leave [Tabish is a third year student] and for those who go back will be allowed only one month of online classes.
Russian invasion
Ignoring Western warnings, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a “special military operation” on Thursdaysaying the “neo-Nazis” ruling Ukraine posed a threat to Russia’s security.
The UK said on Saturday that bulk of Russian forces are not very far from Ukraine’s capital Kyiv — some 30 kms — and continue to pound it along with other cities with artillery and cruise missiles in a campaign that has sent hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing westwards towards the European Union, clogging major highways and railway lines.
A US defense official said Ukrainian forces are putting up “very determined resistance” to Russia’s invasion, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy recorded himself from the streets of Kyiv, maintaining a defiant tone.
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