Ukraine war: A fresh advisory by the Ministry of External Affairs has got several stranded Indian students who decided to walk to the Russian border confused whether to continue their journey.
The fresh advisory urged the students to avoid taking unnecessary risks.
The students, however, said they could no longer cope with the nail-biting cold, depleting food supplies and having to melt snow to get drinking water.
Around 700 Indian students are still stuck in the war-hit region, their evacuation hampered by the continuous fighting in the area. The students said they have run out of food and water.
The students have put out videos on social media, saying they have decided to undertake the potentially fatal journey to the Russian border, some 50km from where they are.
They said they hope they would be picked up by Indian authorities from the Russians border.
“We are afraid. We have awaited a lot and we cannot wait anymore. We are risking our life. We are moving towards the border. If anything happens to us, all the responsibility will be on the government and Indian embassy,” a student says in one of the videos released on social media.
In another video, students are seen filling up buckets with ice as they ran out of drinking water.
This prompted the MEA to urge them to stay inside shelters and avoid taking unnecessary risks. “We are deeply concerned about Indian students in Sumy, Ukraine. Have strongly pressed Russian and Ukrainian governments through multiple channels for an immediate ceasefire to create a safe corridor for our students,” MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
After the statement, the group of students have halted their journey for now. “We had already started moving after we gave up hope on the government coming to our rescue. But now with the new advisory, we are confused whether we should take the risk at all. I am so so scared,” said Md Nizamuddin Aman (21), a first-year MBBS student at Sumy State University.
The war in Ukraine has entered its 10th day with evacuation from war-hit cities remaining difficult. Students stranded in these areas are posting videos on social media, pleading with the Indian government to evacuate them.
To evacuate citizens from war-hit Ukraine, the Indian government has launched Operation Ganga. However, the evacuation from the eastern part of the country has been a cause of concern as heavy violence in underway.
With inputs from PTI
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