Surviving on subsistence rations for the past week in World War II bunkers and hostel basements and in Sumy, some 60 km from the Russian border, rescued more than 700 Indian students from the beleaguered city when Moscow called for a ceasefire was expected to leave. to open a corridor for refugees in Mariupol and volnovakh in the Southeast. But that hope soon faded as Russian forces resumed shelling in those areas.
“We are constantly hearing the sound of bombs, shells and bullets. We are afraid We’ve waited a long time and can’t do it anymore. We are risking our lives. We are moving towards the limit. If anything happens to us, it is the responsibility of the government and the Indian embassy,” said some students from their hostel hideout at Sumy State University in a video message on Saturday.
They did not say how they were going to make this treacherous journey to Mariupol, about 600 km from Sumy, in cold weather and bombings, with most roads and bridges destroyed in the shelling. There are also no trains running in Sumi.
“Everyone is carrying guns. Trying to quit on your own is too risky. Things are terrible. We are very scared,” said Indore’s Jayesh Patel. Some students tried to move west, but soon realized the disappointment of such an undertaking. “Trains are not available. There are no bus drivers. There is no transport,” said Jayesh.
Concerned about the safety of these students, the Indian government said it was in touch with Russian and Ukrainian authorities to allow its citizens to visit the Russian border or Ukraine’s western borders with Romania, Hungary and Poland.
Sources said PM Narendra Modi held a meeting on Saturday evening to discuss the situation in Ukraine and India’s evacuation efforts. foreign Minister S Jaishankar And his cabinet colleague Piyush Goyal was present at the meeting chaired by Modi, which was also attended by several top bureaucrats.
The MEA said it had “strongly pressured” Russia and Ukraine through multiple channels for an immediate ceasefire to create a safe corridor for Indian students. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the government is not in favor of the students to move out unless a safe route is available.
Russian buses are said to be waiting for them across the border more than 60 km away, but getting there will be a major challenge when the area is under constant shelling.
The Indian government said that all the students in Kharkiv, about 200 km from Sumy and close to the Russian border, have moved out. There are about 300 in nearby Pesochin and according to the MEA, buses were arranged to take them to the western border.
Sonam Kumari, a sixth year MBBS student, said Indians in Sumi have not received any help unlike their compatriots in Kharkiv. “Why were we ignored?” He asked when he narrated their everyday ordeal of collecting snow or ice from a football field or a nearby lake and melting them for water. Vaishnav R MenonThe fourth year student from Kerala said: “It is the 10th day of the war. Our railroads have been bombed. We don’t see any hope. Everyone we turn to for help is telling us to wait. I think Sumi has been left out. Students from all other cities have been evacuated.”
More than 21,000 Indians are said to have left Ukraine so far and over 13,000 have reached home on 63 flights operated under the mission code Operation Ganga for the government’s evacuation effort. More than 2,000 are expected to return on 11 flights from Romania and Hungary on Sunday.
inputs from Sunita Rao In Bangalore, Disney Tom in Kochi and Ramendra Singh in Bhopal