Nearly 700 medical students who had been through hell for 13 days without food and water in Sumy amid intense bombings by Russia were taken to a safer place in Ukraine on Tuesday. “We moved out of Sumy at 9 am on buses and reached Poltava about 1.50 pm. We all were very frightened but equally excited during the journey,” said Mohammad Faisal, a native of Bihar. 

The student said authorities had arranged for about 75 buses for them. “We had been reeling under constant threat for 13 days but now we all took a sigh of relief. While heading to Poltava, I saw many devastating scenes, the roads were damaged, buildings were destroyed…there was total mayhem,” said Faisal, who added that the buses had to cross several military bases.