Alone in his apartment and scared in every way, former Indian national rapid chess champion Anvesh Upadhyay is one of many of his compatriots stranded in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion and desperately hoping to be deported from the country he has been living in since 2012. are.
The 30-year-old, who is doing an apprenticeship in gastroenterology at a Kiev hospital, had planned to return to India in March. But with Russia launching a military operation on Thursday, flights have been suspended and she is unsure what is in store.
The 2017 national rapid chess champion told PTI from Kiev, “This intensity was not expected. This is a full-scale military offensive. Never imagined it.”
At a media briefing on Thursday, India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla assured all Indian nationals in Ukraine that the government would take all steps to bring them back safely.
He said there were around 20,000 Indians in Ukraine and about 4,000 of them have returned to India in the last few days.
Upadhyay said he has seen turmoil in the country, recalling student protests in 2013 against then-president Viktor Yanukovich’s decision not to sign a deal that would bring Ukraine closer to the European Union.
But he admitted that nothing compares to the chaos that has spread over the past few days.
Upadhyay described the current situation as saying, “I was present during Maidan Kranti which was bad but not so scary.”
“My parents are very worried in India and so I had planned to go in the first week of March,” he said of his family which is based in Bhubaneswar.
“They are calling me constantly, as do some teachers in my school. I’m alone here in my apartment. And I don’t know what’s in store. The attack happened suddenly. So, nothing could have happened.” ” Upadhyay said he had earlier tried to leave Ukraine but could not get a flight ticket, adding that he took permission from his bosses to leave as tensions escalated and it became clear that a confrontation was on the cards.
He said that he is now waiting for instructions from the Indian Embassy in Ukraine.
“Yes, I am hoping for this madness to end and I am waiting for the instructions from our embassy.
“At present they (embassy) are taking appropriate steps to ensure safe evacuation, but we should not ignore that this situation is difficult and surprising for them as well. So wait patiently,” Upadhyay said.
“Indian embassy has asked people to stay indoors and not to go out. In the meantime, they have given location of bomb shelters if necessary and asked us to get in touch through the official page.” As tensions escalated, Upadhyay was able to buy some essentials and said that for now he needed to sustain himself.
“I actually did manage to buy essentials a week ago according to local news. So I am good. I am more worried if the war comes to residential areas. There is always collateral damage,” he said.
With regard to electricity and water supply, Upadhyay, who had moved to Ukraine in 2012 to take medicine after a suggestion from his coach (Georgi Timoshenko), said, “So far everything (electricity and water supply) is God. By the grace of it is working fine.” He last participated in an over-the-board event in the city of Vinnitsa in the west-central part of Ukraine about two months ago and finished on top.
But the doctor, who has an ELO rating of 2352 (ranking points in chess), is no longer focused on the game and only wants to return to India.
publicized
“I am listening to distant explosions,” he signed while sitting in distant Kiev, hoping for better times.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
,