New Delhi: “We are left with food for today only,” 21-year-old Shana Shaji of Kerala said over the phone from Ukraine’s Kharkiv city, hiding inside a metro bunker as the Russian military assault on the country rages on.
Shaji, a medical student, and her friends had shifted to the metro station on Thursday when Russia launched its military offensive.
Connected with the outside world with just their mobile phone, Shaji said they are unaware of what is happening outside the station.
Thinking the situation has improved, they had tried to exit the metro station but ran back in after spotting military vehicles on the roads.
Panic gripped several cities of Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation against the eastern European country.
Following Putin’s announcement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said an “invasion” could be the beginning of a “big war” in Europe.
The metro stations have turned into bunkers as people have taken shelter to escape bombardment amid the raging military conflict. People in these “bunkers” are becoming increasingly despondent as they are running out of food supplies, Shaji said.
“When I entered the metro station. I thought I will be evacuated soon but it has been three days,” the fourth-year medical student said in a heavy voice. “We don’t have food supplies. What will we do now? No ATM is dispensing cash,” Shaji added.
The majority of the people in the metro station are Indian citizens, she said, adding they are sleeping on platforms and have used mattresses and blankets to prepare makeshift beds. They sleep in shifts to ensure the safety of the group.
While several are stuck in bunkers, others chose to leave on foot to reach the land borders.
With Ukraine closing its airspace after Russia launched the military operation, the Indian government sent teams to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Romania to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals.
India has positioned teams of officials at the Zahony border post in Hungary, Krakowiec as well as the Shehyni-Medyka land border points in Poland, Vysne Nemecke in the Slovak Republic and the Suceava transit point in Romania to coordinate the exit of Indian nationals from Ukraine.
Shaji said that a few of her friends have left for Poland. “I have lost contact with them. I have no idea where they are. My friend texted me that she is leaving for Poland. There was no further communication.” Among those who chose not to wait is 19-year-old, Manogya Bora. She, along with a group of friends, left the city of Lviv in western Ukraine to reach the border.
“So first, at 11 am yesterday (Friday) we reached Rava-Ruska, the first border crossing to Poland after the advisory from the Indian embassy. We walked for eight kilometres. Many people reached the border but they said they are not allowing people to cross. So we came back. We went to another city by walking 18-20 km. Then we stopped at some shelter. Now, we have reached the border,” Bora, a medical student from Uttarakhand, said.
When she reached the border, she said she was stunned to see the sea of people who were waiting with bags to cross. She shared several videos with PTI in which hundreds of people can be seen at the checkpoint, trying to cross the border into Poland.
Several people were seen sobbing, with stress and lack of sleep clearly visible on their faces. Mothers were seen trying to calm their babies wailing continuously. “My situation is very bad. We are tired. I hope we can pass through this checkpoint,” Bora said.
The situation, however, is calmer in several western cities, including Lviv, from where Bora left.
A first-year medical student, Kanishk, who is a friend of Bora, said panic gripped the city on the first day of the military invasion by Russian troops. “People were panic buying, supermarkets ran out of supplies. Foreign nationals faced more problems because ATMs were not dispensing cash,” he said.
Unlike other cities, the situation is slightly better there now, he added.
Ukraine’s health minister said 198 people, including three children, have been killed so far amid Russia’s assault.
Another 1,115 people have been wounded, and among them are 33 children, Viktor Lyashko said in a statement on Facebook.
India on Saturday advised its stranded nationals in Ukraine to exercise caution at all times and not move to any border posts to exit the country without prior coordination with its officials.
The Indian embassy in Ukraine issued a fresh advisory in view of increasing Russian attacks on several Ukrainian cities and reports of heavy fighting around the capital Kyiv.
The embassy particularly advised those staying in the eastern part of Ukraine to continue to remain in their current places of residence and stay indoors or in shelters as much as possible.