Indian students stuck in Ukraine worried about safety, future
The Hindu
Many were planning to leave for India next month
On Wednesday, Ayush Kumar was trying to book a flight back to India for March. On Thursday morning, as Russia invaded Ukraine, he was stocking up on groceries and essentials. A resident of Uttar Pradesh, the second year MBBS student is among a large number of Indians studying in Ukraine.
“I was trying to leave for India and I was looking for a flight. On Wednesday, I was trying for a flight for March 17. Today, the airspace is closed,” said Mr. Kumar who studies in Danylo Halytsky lviv National Medical University, Lviv.
The city in western Ukraine is on high alert. “The situation is not as dangerous as in eastern Ukraine. But we are on alert. Emergency sirens played in the morning. We were told to keep stock of groceries and water and prepare a small backpack with documents,” he said, speaking to The Hindu from Lviv over phone.
Mr. Kumar lives in an apartment with three other students, while many more are in the hostel. “Many like me were planning to leave in the first week of March. But now we can’t. I’m very worried about my course. My family is very worried and we’re keeping in touch via WhatsApp. From 4.30 a.m. today, I’ve received several calls. By 6 a.m., I could hear sirens - for the first time in my life. Lviv is not densely populated, but for the first time today, I saw a queue in front of the ATM,” he said.
Many Indian students chose to study in Ukraine as they couldn’t get seats in government medical colleges here. “I would have to go for a private college or choose BDS or BMS. The option to go abroad was affordable. Indian companies sell packages. In my college, it’s going to cost me ₹32-36 lakh for six years,” explained Mr. Kumar, adding that this includes fees, flights, visa, insurance and commission.
Since the pandemic, classes have been conducted online. A month ago, they were informed that March onwards, classes would be offline. But with the situation deteriorating, professors have advised students to not panic as classes will continue online, he said.
Arshsalan Azeem from Guwahati, Assam, is in the same college. Last year, he had returned to India during the summer vacations in July, and went back to Ukraine in August. He had similar plans for this year, too, until things went awry. “When we started looking for earlier flights, they were very expensive. We thought we’ll wait, but the situation worsened,” he said.