Ukraine Russia war: Govt still doesn't seem to have a workable plan to evacuate Indians citizens

Contrary to what the union government has been stating, it is becoming increasingly evident that the government does not seem to have a workable plan to evacuate Indian citizens stuck within Ukraine. All the advisories being released by the embassy in Ukraine simply urge Indians to make it to the borders any way they can, even on ‘foot’.

Students stuck in the capital Kyiv and Kharkiv, which is close to Russia on the Eastern Ukrainian border, have been holed up in bunkers for days without much chance to step out. There has been continuous shelling in both the cities and almost all the students complained of lack of assistance from Embassy Officials.

Even students who were escaping from Odessa, which is in the south-west Ukraine, and shares a border with Moldova, complained that they had to walk for hours and even when they reached the border there were harassed as no Indian officials were present to take care of them.

“We struggled without food and water, arranged our own cars and buses to reach the Moldova border from Odessa, only to be abused by the Ukrainian soldiers and officers. We had to beg and plead to be allowed to cross. They were beating up men and women. We came across Indian officials once we reached Romania. What is the point of it then,” asked an enraged student Parul.

Steady stream of messages are being shared in certain groups on social media, where students stuck in Kyiv and Kharkiv are appealing for help to get out from those cities. They are asking resident Indians to appeal to the union government to make arrangements. Close to 1,000 students are stuck in Sumy near the Eastern Ukraine border and they have been appealing to the Embassy for help as they have been stuck for eight days amidst the bombing. No help has been forthcoming.

“Situation is worsening here. There is bombing all around and we don’t know if we will make it out alive. There is a shortage of food. Some of us made it to the railway station, but we were not allowed to board the train. Ukranian railway officials wanted a bribe so that we could spend the night at the railway station. We did not have money, so we were beaten up. Where is the Indian government? Embassy officials are not here to evacuate us. They are in safe zones and waiting to take credit,” said a student studying at the Kharkiv National Medical University.

One batch of Indian students from Kharkiv was able to get on the train and they are yet to reach Lviv, near the Western Ukraine border, to cross into Poland. They have already been on the train for more than 25 hours, for what should have been an 11-hour journey. Once they reach Lviv, they will decide if they are likely move towards Hungary (150 km) or Poland (80 km) borders.

“The queue near the Polish border is almost 15 kilometre long. We were waiting in that queue for more than 35 hours without any assistance from our government. Many of us escaped from colleges without our documents. Many students were abused. If the Embassy officials had been at the border, we would not have had to face this kind of discrimination,” said Neetu, a fourth year MBBS student who had just crossed into Poland.

Ministers have been putting out schedules of flights which would take off from Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Poland, but nothing on how to get the students stuck in Ukraine out of the country. The government has claimed that they have been able to organise shelter and food, but local administration in these countries have highlighted that they have provided the food and shelter too.

General VK Singh has been posting pictures of him announcing on flights which have taken off from Poland and distributing food to those who have reached the shelters, but no information on how to move from bomb-hit Ukrainian cities. Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia too has been doing the same but from Romania.

It was only law and justice minister Kiren Rijiju who informed those who reached Slovakia that there has been difficulty in evacuating those who have been caught amidst of the bombing. He admitted that circumstances have been challenging for the Embassy officials to ensure safe passage of these students.

Parents whose children are yet to reach India have confirmed and reiterated that there has been absolutely no help from either the external affairs ministry in Delhi or the embassy in Ukraine. “A student in a group is often designated to keep trying the embassy number, but it never gets connected. And neither do they respond to any of the messages,” highlighted Nalini, whose son is one of those who left Kharkiv, but yet to reach any of the designated borders to board the flights to India.