Gujarat: Vadodara boy back home finally

Since February 24, Ritik Raj a medicine student, who was stranded in battle-ravaged Sumy, was anxiously waiting for this moment to arrive when he could say goodbye to the mayhem of war.

It was a hellish experience for Ritik who was trying to stay safe in the Ukrainian city of Sumy, located just 50 miles away from Russian border, surviving on minimal food and water, while bombs exploded barely metres away from their bunkers.

However, he finally heaved a sigh of relief after reaching home in Vadodara's Tarsali area on Friday in one piece.

In the fortnight that passed, Ritik has seen it all - from civilians handling guns to lifeless bodies on roads in a war zone that witnessed constant shelling and long wailing air raid sirens.

As days passed by, students like Ritik could not even use their cellphones between 5 pm and 7 am. "A little flash of light would attract a snipper attack or an air strike.

Our hostel building would tremble with each bomb that exploded within 2km radius," recalled Ritik, shuddering at how the Russian army exploded a bomb just when they were being evacuated.