Indian biker, who married a Ukrainian, stuck in war-hit Sumy

Safina and Vladyslav Akimov with their child Daniil Akimov

The story of a 27-year-old Indian biker, who fell in love with a Ukrainian citizen and married him, took a turn for the worse as the couple, along with their 11-month-old child are stuck in Sumy in war-hit Ukraine. They had even booked flight tickets for February 26 to visit India to meet his family, but the war struck, making them unable to leave. Now the family is stuck in a war zone with daily bombing and firing.

Indian biker Safina, who had gone to Ukraine in 2019, met Vladyslav Akimov there and fell in love. They got married and Safina returned to India the same year to meet her family. However, she went back to Ukraine before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently, the Akimov family including Safina, Vladyslav and their child Daniil Akimov is surrounded by the Russian Army at Sumy and are not allowed to leave their house. They told mid-day that they are done with Ukraine and are planning to move to India for good.

Speaking with mid-day, Safina said, "I like road trips and I have been riding sports bikes for several years. I also went for road trips to various countries. In June of 2019 I went on a road trip to Ukraine and met Vladyslav Akimov. Vladyslav proposed and I said yes. Vladyslav came to India in December that year and we officially got married and held a reception in Mumbai. However, soon after I shifted to Ukraine, a lockdown was imposed across the world."

She added, "We have been trying to visit India for the past three years and could not due to the lockdown. We initially lived in Kyiv in 2020, but later as COVID-19 cases increased, we moved to Sumy. Once the lockdown rules were eased, on February 14, we booked a flight to India for February 26 as we decided to celebrate Ramzan and Eid in India. But then the war started. We were ready to leave with our bags packed, but all flights were cancelled. As we have a bunker at our apartment, we decided to stay back."

Talking about their current situation, she said, "We spend our nights in the bunker and return to our apartment during the day. I have baby food stored, but my husband and I are running out of food."

"The condition in Ukraine has deteriorated and we are trying our best to leave, but are not allowed to go out. My parents haven't even met my kid yet. We have decided to move to India, at least till the situation here gets better," she said.

"My in-laws also live in Ukraine and I want to take them to india. I can't leave them here. Every day around 3-4 bombs fall in our area," she said.

Safina, who had recently started a sunflower business at Sumy which was completely destroyed in the bombings, said her family lives in Bengaluru while a number of relatives live in Muimbai. "We don't have sufficient food and are surviving on oatmeal. I am worried about my kid and my husband and family. I just want to take my family to India safely," she concluded.