JAIPUR: As the Indian embassy in Kyiv had given Indian nationals less than four hours to leave Ukraine’s Kharkiv on Wednesday due to intensifying attacks, about 1,000 students from three universities walked 25 km to reach a safer place.
All of them reached Pisochyn and took refuge in a shelter house.
Uttam Sharma from Alwar was among the 1,000 students, who had to pack up their bags and leave the universities.
"We first walked 10km to Kharkiv railway station, but there was so much rush. Ukrainian soldiers were not letting us in, and the first preference was given to Ukrainians, then girls, and then boys. Hence, we decided to move ahead amid continuous shelling. One missile blasted just 500 m away from me. We thought we will be next," said Sharma.
While they were travelling, Ukrainian soldiers gave them cover fire to protect them from Russian gunfire and Uttam said without their help, the journey would have been impossible.
"When we reached the check post along the border of Kharkiv city, the shelling intensified. Ukrainian soldiers let us stay in their bunkers nearby for a couple of hours before we resumed our journey. Soldiers were so helpful and were smiling at us all our way. I don’t think we would have made it without their help and guidance," said Sharma.
Around 50 Indian students, including a few from Rajasthan, strayed from the rest of the group when they were leaving Kharkiv. A bomb blast near the Kharkiv railway station had forced them to change their path. Since 6.30 am they walked miles without any food or water while missiles were raining.
Rahul Saini, a student from Sikar, said, "I am in the second year who had no idea about the passage to Pisochyn. I just followed my seniors. There were air strikes and bombarding just a few meters away. I cannot explain how scared we were for our lives."
With the guidance of a few locals, they met on the way, all 50 Indian students reached the Pisochyn shelter house at 7 pm on Wednesday.
