Survival on chips & biscuits, Hiding In Cold War-Era Bunkers; Himachal Girls Narrate Ordeal On Return From Ukraine

| Updated: 28 February, 2022 3:35 pm IST

SHIMLA: Life is priority, not MBBS degree, said two girls from Theog in Shimla district upon reaching their native place from war-torn Ukraine late on Sunday night. The two were trapped in Ukraine for days before they were evacuated by the Indian government.

The medical courses offered by Ukrainian as well as Russian universities attract a sizable number of Indian students. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has left many Indian students in a lurch. Now dependent on the Indian Government for evacuation, many of these students are gradually making their way home.

The two medical students reached Delhi late Saturday evening via Romania on a special Air India flight. From Delhi, the duo travelled to Shimla via an HRTC bus and was grandly welcomed by their relatives with hugs and moist eyes.

Kashish Sharma of Theog, who is studying MBBS, said the situation in Ukraine remained extremely delicate. The atmosphere was tense, especially with the ongoing bombings in eastern Ukraine, she said.

Kashish shared that several of her friends and acquaintances were still stranded in Ukraine. The Central Government and the Indian Embassy in Ukraine are assisting in the evacuation of all Indians.

She has appealed to all Indian students stranded in Ukraine to stay put and wait for their turn to board rescue flights via neighbouring countries. Kashish studies in a university in western Ukraine. The situation in Ukraine deteriorated after the Russian attack, she shared.

Theog’s Oshima Mokta, a first year MBBS student, thanked the Centre and the government of Ukraine for their safe return to India. Recounting the horror and the uncertainty that prevails in Ukraine post the Russian attacks, she said the situation in Ukraine changed for the worse overnight. “People in Kyiv and surrounding cities are more scared and frightened because of constant shelling. They have been hiding in Cold War-era bunkers and surviving on chips and biscuits,” she shared.

Worried for her other friends who are stranded in Ukraine, she sends her best wishes and hopes that they too return home safe.

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