Indian students in Ukraine’s Sumy filling up snow in bottles to make water

A fragment of a destroyed Russian tank on the roadside on the outskirts of Kharkiv. Pic/ AFP

Indian students in Ukraine's Sumy are struggling with basic supplies. Since Russia invaded the country, students are filling up snow in plastic containers to make water for daily use.

Vishad Patel, 22, a fifth-year medical student at Sumy University said that he managed to store about 20 litres of water on Friday but he doesn't know if it is potable.

"We walked around a kilometre, risking our lives to find a water source. While we managed to collect around 20-30 litres of water for drinking, we have no idea whether it can be consumed or not," he said.

A student procuring water from a pipeline at a rooftop

"We also collected snow in plastic containers and then heated it to make water which can be later used for washing, in toilets and other daily uses."

According to the students, the situation in Sumy is worsening and just a few kilometres away, there was bombarding too due to which there was a power cut for a few hours. "Staying in the bunker without electricity is difficult," Patel said.

He added, "We are trying to reach out to as many officials as possible to get help. We are merely surviving here and are mentally and physically exhausted."

Students stand in a queue to get water

According to Patel, the university is not helping them in arranging any transport facilities. "We are on our own. The education agent told us that we will be evacuated soon by forming a ‘humanitarian corridor' but there has been no clearance from the officials. We need permission from Ukraine, Russian and Indian governments so that we can commute safely to the border."

"The education agent/contractors are trying their best to evacuate us but the university is not helping us."

The students in Sumy are 50 km away from the Russian border but due to the lack of public transport facility and safety assurances from the officials they are unable to commute safely.

Speaking about why Patel wanted to stay back after the initial advisory, he said, "The university authorities kept telling us that there won't be any war and we will be continuing the classes offline. As per the university rules, if we miss our classes, we have to pay a penalty of 150 hryvnia (Rs 380 INR) per lecture. This is not affordable to all students."