Dilemma of Indian students stranded in east Ukraine: How to travel for 18 hours for evacuation?

The Indian students studying at Sumy State University said it will take 18-20 hours for them to reach western Ukraine by road.

By Urvashi Nautiyal

New Delhi: India augmented efforts to evacuate its nationals, including students, stranded in Ukraine through Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania’s border crossings on Friday (February 25) amid Russian “military operation” in its neighbouring country. 

As the evacuation operation is on, students stuck in east Ukraine have appealed to the Indian government to provide them a vehicle as it is not possible for them to travel to west Ukraine bordering these countries. The students studying at Sumy State University said it will take 18-20 hours for them to reach western Ukraine by road, which is unsafe in the present circumstances. This comes in the backdrop of Russian troops entering the city of Sumy today. 

Jia, a student in Ukraine, her parents said that the children are in constant touch with the Indian embassy in Ukraine. “It is a matter of relief for us that someone on foreign soil is giving courage to our children but the problem remains,” the parents said. 

The map below shows the problem faced by students in east Ukraine, as Sumy is on one corner and the borders of Romania and Hungary on the other. 

Notably, the Indian embassy has asked its nationals to leave with the Indian flag on their vehicle and make arrangements to reach the designated border crossings. 

Meanwhile, Government officials have said Air India is planning to operate two flights to the Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday to evacuate some of the Indians, PTI reported. 

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had said on Thursday that there were around 20,000 Indians in Ukraine, out of which 4,000 have returned to India in the last few days.