Sumy’s Indians in Catch-22, hope for safe exit

HYDERABAD: At 2.29pm, an air raid siren goes off. Shivangi Shibu, a student, who was till then explaining the situation in Sumy in Ukraine, runs for cover.
“I have to run. They have sounded the siren. We have to rush to the bomb shelter,” Shivangi said, abruptly cutting the call. She is among hundreds of students of Sumy state university waiting to be evacuated since the war began on February 24.

Over 700 Indian students are caught between the devil and deep sea in Sumy in north-eastern Ukraine. Though they are just 48 km away from the border, the shaken youth are waiting for a word from the Indian embassy in Ukraine about their evacuation plans.
“The most practical thing is to evacuate us from Russia. If the authorities decide, this can be done and is more feasible,” Shivangi said. This is what most students in Sumy are hoping. That is because Sumy is only 48 km from the Russian border. If the bombing by Russia is stopped and they are allowed a safe passage from Russia back home, it would bring great relief to hundreds of students stranded there. Going to the western border is impossible as the distance is over 1,300 km.
According to a count that student groups have, there are 707 Indian students in Sumy.
While the Indian embassy in Ukraine has been issuing advisories and evacuating students from the capital Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cites from the borders of different countries, there has been no specific advisory for students in Sumy.
“Everyday the situation is getting worse. There is more panic after an Indian student was killed in the war. You are evacuating from western side. Sumy is right now blocked. Railway tracks are damaged. Roadways are not safe. Russian troops are damaging vehicles. Embassy should give us direction. Please get the Russain border to open and take us officially from our place to the Russian border for our safety,” Shaik Abrar, a fourth year medical student of Sumy state university, said in a video.
“We wake up to blasts. Evacuating us from the Russian border is a possible thing,” another Indian student Mehtab and his friends said in a video they put out on social media. “We hear of explosions and deaths and that scares us. Why are there no updates for Sumy?” the students questioned.
Students of other cities are now crossing through Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romanian borders, but students in Sumy are stuck.
“Students must be evacuated from Sumy,” said Team SOS India founder-president Nitesh Singh, whose teams are assisting Indian students find their way to the borders.