Students In Sumy, Kharkiv Appeal To Govt For Evacuation Through Russia

Indian students and citizens stranded in Ukraine’s Sumy urged the Indian government to evacuate them. These students released a video to news agency NDTV where a group pleaded to the government to rescue them from the city which continues to face attacks as Russian and Ukrainians fight to take control.

“It is practically impossible and very dangerous for us to travel to the western border of Ukraine,” Anju Tojo told news agency NDTV and highlighted that evacuation is only possible through the Russian border. She urged the Indian embassy in Moscow to get them evacuated.

Another student who belonged to the same group said that they are laying low in their bunkers as it gets cold. She says that missile strikes and

One student in the video also highlighted that there are landmines on the way to Kyiv from Sumy. The students said that at least 500 students remain stuck in Ukraine.

These students are enrolled in Sumy Medical University.

Earlier, foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that the situation in Kharkiv and Sumy is a cause of concern. He highlighted that no more Indians are stranded in Kyiv and all of them have been evacuated from the capital.

The Indian embassy in Poland and Lithuania urged Indian students in Lviv to move towards Poland and Hungary so that external affairs ministry officers can help arrange their return back home.

People familiar with the developments have told CNNNews18 that a team stationed in Belgorod, which is 80 kms away, is examining options like transportation and accommodation to facilitate smooth evacuation for the stranded Indian citizens and students in that region. The officials told CNNNews18 that every step is being taken to extract students and citizens from the cities of Kharkiv and Sumy.

Sumy bore the brunt of Russian shelling over the past two days. The city which is 200km from Kharkiv – also under siege – witnessed shelling leading to charred buildings with caved-in walls and rescue workers digging through rubble, according to a report by AFP.

“Many died. Currently, places are being prepared in the cemetery for about 70 dead Ukrainian soldiers,” Dmytro Zhyvytsky, the head of the Sumy region, was quoted as saying on his Telegram account, news agency AFP reported.

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