‘My sister managed to flee from Kharkiv, but still 350 km away from Romania border’

Ukrainian artillerymen keep position in the Luhansk region on March 2. PIc/ AFP

Pravina Aswathy, a sixth-year medical college student who tried to take the train for Lviv after the Indian advisory on Thursday, is trying to reach the Romanian border. Aswathy studied in Kharkiv in Ukraine and is one of the students who managed to flee from Kharkiv after the emergency advisory was sent out by the Indian government.

Her brother Vijay Aswathy said, "She tried to board a train for Lviv when the advisory was out, but the Ukrainian army was not allowing foreign students to board the train. They were giving preference to their own citizens (only women and children) to board the train so that they cross the border. After a lot of struggle, my sister managed to board a train for Vinnytsia."

While the men in the age group of 18-60 years have been told to stay back by the Ukraine government to fight for their country, the Ukrainian women and children are commuting to reach the borders of Poland and other countries to cross-over safely.

After travelling for more than nine hours by train, Aswathy along with 33 other Indian medical students still need to travel another 350 km to reach the Romania border. "Due to no transport facilities available from Vinnytsia to reach the border further, they are stuck and are trying to cover the distance by walking and seeking help to arrange transport facilities," Vijay added.

He stated that the students tried to reach out to the government and Indian embassy but there was no communication from the officials.

"We are constantly in touch with her and hope she cross the border safely," he added.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry has declared a ceasefire for the evacuation of civilians from the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha. The ministry added that the corridors and the evacuation routes have been agreed upon with Ukraine.