E-Paper
Attack on Ukraine: 150 MBBS students board train from Kharkiv for Poland border
Undertake 17-hour rail journey to Lviv from where they aim to cross over to Poland on refugee visa and fly back to India
Nearly 150 Indian students studying at Kharkiv National Medical University fled Kharkiv, one of the worst-hit towns by Russian attacks, on Tuesday morning.
Also read: Modi government concerned over cluster bombing of Kharkiv by Russia
A sixth-year MBBS student from Kapurthala, Jatinder Pal Singh, said they boarded a train at 6.50am to reach Lviv city near the Poland border. “An official at the Indian embassy in Ukraine informed us that a special helpdesk has been set up near Lviv. From there we are expected to reach Polish territory with a refugee visa. From Poland, we may be flying to Mumbai or Delhi. We are all anxious,” he said.
Students said the special train may take 17 hours to reach Lviv that falls in the ‘safe zone’ as there has not been news of the Russian invasion on that front.
The train in which the group of students is travelling is packed to capacity.
The Ukrainian authorities are not charging for train travel, the students said.
“The train will cross the national capital, Kyiv, which is the worst hit. Today, nine trains started for different cities from Kharkiv. Owing to the situation, there was no fixed departure schedule,” said Harjinder Singh, another student from Fazilka district.
He said though the situation in Kharkiv was comparatively calm since Monday morning, the historic government headquarters in the heart of the city was damaged in a missile attack at 8am, barely an hour after they left.
“We gathered the courage to travel out of Kharkiv. It was a risk worth taking as the situation is getting grimmer. We are keeping our fingers crossed and look forward to meeting our families,” Harjinder said.
The Kharkiv National Medical University has announced the cancellation of all classes till March 13.
In a message to students on Monday, the rector or academic head of the university also announced opening a dedicated helpline for the counselling of students.
