A resident of Gadag district in Karnataka, Mahaganapati is studying medicine in Ukraine from December 2020. The stranded student said, “Ukrainians always say, ‘Glory to Ukraine’ and never want to be a part of Russia.”
Mahaganapati, an Indian student in Ukraine said the tension is in the border and central areas and other parts are safe at present, after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine in a televised address on Thursday.
A resident of Gadag district in Karnataka, Mahaganapati is studying medicine in Ukraine from December 2020. The stranded student said, “Ukrainians always say, ‘Glory to Ukraine’ and never want to be a part of Russia.”
He also revealed that his flight ticket to India was booked for March 1, but Kyiv closed its airspace amid Russian military operations in its eastern breakaway areas and now Mahaganapati remains stranded awaiting help.
He also said if there is a blast, there could be a curfew in the area. So, people are rushing to ATMs, malls, grocery stores to stock things anticipating a blast and a curfew.
Meanwhile, speaking exclusively to Asianet Newsable correspondent Mohammad Yacoob, Mahaganapati’s father Srikanth said, “We spoke to him this morning at 10 am. He said he is safe. His return ticket was booked for March 1 but due to Russia’s attack and airways shut, now we don’t know what the status is. My son said that the war is only in border areas and there is no impact in the place where he stays.”
Not just Mahaganapati, family members of many students studying in Ukraine have reached out to the Ukrainian embassy in the national capital.
The Ministry of External Affairs has set up a control room which is being made operational on a 24x7 basis to assist the students and other Indian nationals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine in a televised address on Thursday. He said the military action announced by him will seek to "demilitarize" Ukraine and came in response to threats from Ukraine.
Moments after his announcement, large explosions were heard in different parts of Ukraine. The Ukraine representative at an emergency United Nations meeting appealed to all to “stop the war”.
