We're Left Behind, Say Indian Students In Sumy; Evacuation Continues From Other Ukraine Cities
Hundreds of Indian students who are suck in the Ukrainian city of Sumy in the country's northeast, close to the border of Russia have appealed for their immediate evacuation amid increased shelling there.
Unlike other Ukrainian cities from where thousands of Indian students have been brought to safety through neighboring countries, no evacuation has been carried out in Sumy.
According to those stranded in Sumy, there are 700-800 Indians in the city, mostly medical students of Sumy State University.
Students share ordeal
One of them, Mahek Shaikh, shared an eight-second video clip on Thursday of what appeared to be a blast in the town.
"Complete city blackout, no electricity and water supply and multiple bomb blasts nearby. Slow network," she wrote in the post.
Another medical student, Radhika Sangwan, said 700-800 students are stranded in Sumy, and there was no confirmed news on their evacuation.
"I am a student in Sumy, Ukraine. YES WE EXIST!!! There are 700-800 students in Sumy. It's the 7th day of attack and there is no confirmed news on our evacuation. Stress , fear and anxiety are getting to us. Hope is lost. Please help," Sangwan tweeted on Thursday.
Holed up in a bunker, three visibly-distressed medical students shared a video on social media in which they pleaded for evacuation, saying they are running out of food and the security situation is worsening.
"There is no electricity. We are running out of water. There was a huge explosion that is why we ran into the bunker. Please evacuate us," one of them said.
In another video shared tweeted by Shaikh on Thursday, several armed men were seen roaming outside their hostel.
"Looking out of our room's window, another sighting of armed men going around our hostel is what we notice. It's unsafe to step out and the Indian Embassy wants us to catch trains and cross cities. Please evacuate us before the situation worsens," she wrote.
On Sunday, the Indian embassy in Ukraine said intense fighting was underway in Kharkiv, Sumy and Kyiv, and urged Indians in these cities and wherever curfew has been applied to not venture towards railway stations until such curbs are lifted and considerable civilian movement is renewed.
According to Russian News Agency TASS, National Defense Control Center head Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev announced on Thursday that 130 Russian buses are ready to evacuate Indian students and other foreigners from Ukraine¡¯s Kharkiv and Sumy to Russia¡¯s Belgorod Region.
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