‘Each time we were asked about our identity, we flashed the Indian flag on our mobiles. It saved us’

It was a moment of pure joy as students from Karnataka, who were stranded in war-hit Ukraine, were reunited with their families in the city on Tuesday night. We caught up with them at the Kempegowda International Airport, where they shared their ordeals and fears and also requested the government to bring the mortal remains of their friend, Naveen, who lost his life in the shelling. These students, all studying at Kharkiv University, thanked the government for their safe return.Prashanth, 1st year MBBS student, says, “From February 15, we were at Kharkyiv. The bombings began from February 24. We stayed in bunkers for more than five days. It was a tough time to stay with all that was happening around us.”Nandakumar, another student, adds, “It was a very hard time for us to live in Kharkiv. We were staying in bunkers to escape from the bombing and shelling. We had no option but to adjust to living there and we used to make trips to the supermarket to get our supplies in between.”Third-year student Yashwanth Reddy says, “We all panicked when the war began. We initially stayed together at a friend’s house. We then lived in a metro station, where we had no facilities to cook. Eventually, we moved to bunkers. We had no proper food or sleep. We used to reassure ourselves that the next day would be better, but it kept getting worse. Eventually, when we lost our friend Naveen, it was a sad day for all of us students. Even those who didn’t know him were feeling sad and let down.”When the news of the death of medical student Naveen from Karnataka broke, all of the students feared for their lives. Fourth-year medical student Shreyansh Jain said, “We were stuck in a situation where there was bombing and great threat to life. We managed to get back to the country. My only request is to help bring my friend Naveen’s mortal remains back to the country to his family. This is the most we can do for them.”Another medical student, Roopashree, shares, “I wish strength for his parents and I hope they get to see his mortal remains soon as this wait can be hard.”Roopashree says, “We heard bomb explosions even when we were walking to the driveway when they were looking at evacuating us. We had to run for our lives at times. Once on the train, we spotted some soldiers, so the train was halted for an hour-and-a-half. The train then moved slowly to ensure it steers clear from any imminent danger. We were in the train without food or water, but when we finally did get past the border, it was a relief and we were taken care of by the Indian embassy.”Since most of the trains were packed and there were many fleeing to save their lives, the students ensured they helped the girls first. Nandakumar says, “We had a call from the Indian embassy which had given us a deadline to evacuate, we then decided to make a run for it, thinking this was our chance. At the railway station, it was packed. We ensured that we got the girls to board the train. We boys decided to hike it and walked nearly 15 kms where we witnessed shelling around us. Whenever we were questioned about our identity, we just flashed the Indian flag on our mobile screens and walked ahead to the border. The Indian flag on our phones saved us. We had no access to even water when we walked finally to cross the border which was around 25 km in all.”Shreyansh adds, “When we were evacuated, we had to wait for a couple of trains as everything was full. The locals were given priority before us. Eventually, we had to walk to the border with our luggage when it was -5 degrees temperature outside. We heard bombs go off just a few metres away from us. We are thankful no one was injured. We had to initially go past the Russian border, but they did not allow us so eventually we went to the Romanian border where the Indian embassy and government helped us on our way back home.”By Sunayana Suresh and Ratheesh Sundaram