Back home, Indian student shares ordeal of escape from Kharkiv to Hungary

In an exclusive chat with ETV Bharat, Asif spoke about the horrible situation prevailing in Ukrainian cities and how he managed to escape from the war-torn country.

Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh): Family members of Mohammad Asif who went to Ukraine to pursue MBBS four years ago are jubilant after his safe return from the war-ravaged country. Asif belongs to the Fatehganj Paschimi Colony in the Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. In an exclusive chat with ETV Bharat, he spoke about the horrible situation prevailing in Ukrainian cities and how he managed to escape from the country pummeled by Russia these days.

Speaking about his ordeal, Asif said, "I was staying in Kharkiv and left my place at 8 am on foot for the railway station which was four kilometers away on March 1. Then I boarded the train along with my other colleagues, which was another herculean task. We all had to pay 1000hryvnia (around 2500 INR) each for the ticket. Anyhow, we took the train to a place, from where we paid 1300 hryvnia (3200 INR) to reach the Hungarian border the next day (on March 2) at around 4 pm."

"Then again started the agonizing wait; standing in a queue in front of the Immigration Office, waiting for our turn. Ukrainian forces were allowing their own 100 people in one lot for immigration clearances, whereas just five Indian students were permitted to go ahead for checks," said Asif, adding, "Ukraine was a very peaceful and beautiful country. But, the situation has worsened. People are sitting inside bunkers for more than seven days. The condition in Ukraine is deteriorating day by day. Kharkiv City was bombed several times in a day. The government departments and important offices were razed due to heavy shelling."

On the Indian Embassy advisories asking students to move from Ukrainian cities on their own to checkpoints close to Poland, Hungry and Romania, Asif said the government should have taken the initiative of rescuing Indian students from the Ukrainian cities. "Though I have returned safely and my parents are happy, I want smiles on faces of those parents whose children are still stuck there," he said.