We are surviving on biscuits and water: Indians bunkered as troops surround Kyiv

Priti Khuman Thakur Faizan Khan and Diwakar SharmaAs the situation in Ukraine worsened some Indian students in the countryrsquos capital city of Kyiv were moved to a bunker in a medical college on Thursday night Speaking to midday over the phone on Friday one of them said that they have run out of food and money and are surviving on just biscuits and water Many of them are sending emails to and calling the Indian Embassy requesting food and waterYashvi Sethia from Wadala seen here with her mother Arpita is stuck in Vinnitsiya city in UkraineRitankshi Patel a Vasai resident who is currently holed up in the bunker told midday ldquoOn Thursday we reached the airport from where we were taken to a bus stop nearby We contacted the Indian Embassy which shifted us to a medical college We have been in the bunker at the college since Thursday night Whatever food we had is finished now and we are left with only biscuits and water We donrsquot even have money We got in the bunker for safety but it has become overcrowded and we are having trouble breathingrdquoldquoThe Ukrainian forces are continuously warning that rockets could launch at any time We are very scared We have been instructed to not move out of our bunkers and that flights are being arranged for usrdquo said Ritankshi Her father Himmat Patel told midday ldquoAlong with my daughter many other students are stuck in Ukraine We are in touch with Ritankshi but because she is in a bunker we are not able to speak much We are extremely worried and havent been able to sleep We are waiting for her to return home safely We believe that our government will bring our children back safelyrdquoIndia announces evacuationBut a day after Russia began invading Ukraine on Friday the Indian government expedited the process to evacuate its citizens stranded in the warhit country India has announced evacuation flights for its people stranded there and the travel cost will be borne by the Central government said sources ldquoSafe routes are being identified to evacuate nearly 15000 Indians including 1200 students stuck in Ukrainerdquo said a government sourceStudents mostly Indian stranded in UkraineThe embassies of India in Budapest Kyiv Warsaw and Bratislava have issued an advisory for stranded Indians who desire to be evacuated immediately As per the advisory the Indians have been asked to take a print of the Indian national flag and prominently paste it on their vehicles while travelling Sources in the Indian government told midday that the lsquosafest routes are being established to evacuate stranded people from Romania and HungaryrsquoThe Indian nationals have been asked to carry their passports cash preferably in US dollars for emergency expenses and other essentials and COVID19 double vaccination certificates if availablelsquoStay strong safe and alertrsquoThe embassy of India in Kyiv in its advisory said ldquoIn this difficult situation we request Indians to continue to remain strong safe and alert The embassy is also working round the clock to support the Indian community in UkrainerdquoSagar Thakkar and his friends who are stranded in OdessaA student Bhagyashree stuck in Ivano Frankvisk city in Ukraine said ldquoWe are still in our hostel and our contractors and the embassy are arranging buses for us We have been told that tomorrow we will head towards the border We will be guarded by our contractors and embassy officials The situation is scary and we hope that we reach our country safely We are also being told to stick a print of the Indian national flag on our vehicles so no one will trouble usrdquoldquoThere are around 1500 Indians in Ivano Frankivsk and 480 students will be taken to Romanian border today this is what we were told It will take around 12 hours to reach the location and then we will board an Air India flight and the cost will be borne by the Indian government said Divyanshu Gahlot president of the Indian community in Ivano FrankivskSome still await helpTalking to midday Utkarsh Singh who is a fourth year student at Ternopil National Medical University said ldquoThe embassy of India Lviv has made a blunder in their contact number I have been trying to contact the liaison officer Mira Berezovska but the number belongs to some other person How can the number of an ordinary citizen be mentioned as a liaison officerrsquos by the embassy at a time when panic stricken people need immediate helprdquoAbout 470 Indian students left on Friday from Chernivtsi for the UkraineRomania borderSingh further added that no arrangement has been made to evacuate them ldquoMore than 1200 medical students were stranded here Around 300 students made their own arrangements to escape the war hit countryrdquo said Singh who is a native of Nalanda district in BiharKshitiz Singh 19 a first year student from Vinnytsia National Pirogov Medical University said ldquoWe are stuck in a school next to the embassy with over 300 Indians The embassy officials told us to stay put and wait for them to form an evacuation plan because moving right now is dangerous in Kyiv The Indians close to the border are being evacuated first My friends from different universities are finally leaving by buses But Kyiv is surrounded so we have to wait it out He said the Russian troops are hardly 5km awayWadala resident Yashvi Sethia is also in Vinnitsiya city for medical education Her mother Arpita said ldquoShe has been told to go on her own to any border at Hungary Poland or Romania and take a flight The embassy is saying it is very difficult for them to arrange transport The border is very far and it will take around 1012 hours and some students are walking towards it due to a traffic jam Staying there is also riskyrdquo said ArpitaldquoI and my friends are stuck in Odesa city and we are still waiting for help The embassy staff has told us to go to the Romanian border but it is around 700 km from here we cannot go there and other borders are too far said another student who is stuck Sagar ThakkarHow people will be evacuatedThere are two flights for Bucharest today and one flight for Budapest for tomorrow is being planned as GOI chartered flights by Air India ldquoThe Indians stuck there will be taken to the borders of other countries from where they will board Air India flight The first batch of Indian students has left Chernivtsi for the UkraineRomania border MEA Camp Offices are now operational in Kyiv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine Additional Russian speaking officials are being sent to these Camp Officesrdquo said an Indian government official from DelhiAbout the evacuationgtgt The government of India will bear the cost of all the flightsgtgt Special flights will be operated after transporting Indian nationals to neighbouring countries by land15000No of Indians in the Ukraine who will be evacuated