First Covid, now battle: What it’s like being an Indian pupil in Ukraine

There are over 80,000 worldwide college students from 158 international locations in Ukraine at current. Of them, 22 per cent are Indian. Many research at universities within the border areas of the nation.

At Kharkiv University in Kharkiv area, which is simply 42 km from the Ukraine-Russia border, the scholars and residents are surprisingly calm.WORRIED PARENTSAnish Mahadig, a medical pupil, instructed India Today, “Right now the situation in Kharkiv is very normal. Even local citizens in Kharkiv are very calm about the war situation so I feel very relaxed. But my parents back home are very worried because every news channel is showing a war-like situation. They keep calling to get updates.”A father or mother of an Indian pupil in Ukraine spoke to India Today and mentioned, “In the present scenario of Ukraine-Russia conflict, we parents in India are very worried about our children studying in Ukraine. How will they return if things get bad?”The nervous father from Maharashtra added, “In the prevailing Covid scenario, already the curriculum is affected – partly online, partly offline. Technical courses which require practical knowledge are especially being hampered. And now, there is the fear of war. The world cannot afford a war. It is painful to imagine what will happen should there be war.”LOCALS CALMFor the scholars, most of whom are finding out medication or engineering, finishing their programs is their first precedence. They are retaining a eager eye on the developments within the nation. Navjot Sujith Kumar, one other medical pupil, mentioned, “The first time I heard the news, I thought it was quite tense. But since the local people have no fear about the war situation, I have also calmed down.”Pooja Joshi, one other pupil, mentioned, “Kharkiv city is a border town but the situation is peaceful for now. I don’t see any fear of war on the faces of the people.”A Nigerian medical pupil, Dr Muhammad Ali, added, “We shouldn’t panic. While Kharkiv is a border region, the affected areas are mostly on the southern side – Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Here everything is normal.”EMBASSY MONITORING SITUATIONMeanwhile, the Embassy of India in Kyiv is intently monitoring the state of affairs and has suggested all Indians in Ukraine to proceed to comply with the Embassy’s web site, Facebook and Twitter pages for all updates.The Embassy additionally shared a type to be stuffed by January 31 to make sure correct depend of all Indian residents, together with college students, presently situated within the territory of Ukraine. The Embassy is in contact with the scholars ought to they require any emergency help sooner or later.Amid protest marches and information studies of an imminent battle between Russia and Ukraine, life goes on as per common for these college students. There is nothing extra they need than peace and stability for a rustic they’ve often called residence for the final couple of years.(With inputs from Geeta Mohan)ALSO READ: Ukraine-Russia disaster and rising concern of conflict: All it is advisable knowALSO READ: Russia-Ukraine disaster “most harmful second” for Europe in many years, says Boris Johnson