Many Gujarat students stranded in Ukraine, some head home

Many Gujarat students stranded in Ukraine are having to run from one border to another in their desperate attempt to escape to safety from the war-torn country.

These students said that the Indian embassy has asked them to reach Romania or Poland borders without offering logistical help. The students said that the embassy expects them to manage transportation and reach borders on their own.

There are nearly 2,500 Gujarat students stranded in Ukraine cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, and many other places in the western regions.

Mrunal Pandya and his wife Anjali are from Mehmedabad and are studying medicine in International European University in Kyiv. They had to manage their own vehicle and travel 12 hours to reach the Poland border.

Mrunal said that the helpline numbers the Indian embassy has provided are dysfunctional. "We felt quite helpless when helpline numbers were either unreachable or nobody answered them," he said.

Mrunal added that the local population is helpful and supportive. "Ukrainian citizens have been providing us with food and provisions at many places," he said.

Bhavin Dhumda, who hails from Ahmedabad and studies at International European University in Kyiv, said: "When we reached the Poland border on our own, we were not allowed to cross. we tried to seek help from the Indian embassy on given helpline numbers, nobody took our calls." He went on to say: "We even sent text messages which are still unanswered."

"The situation is worsening in Odessa. A lot of airstrikes are hitting it," said Divyesh Patel, who belongs to Nadiad and is a final-year student of medicine at Odessa National Medical University. Patel added: "I was a part of a group of about 50 students that hired a bus to reach the Romanian border." However, they cancelled the booking fearing a missile strike on their bus.