NEW DELHI: A day after the Indian government asked citizens to "immediately" leave the war-hit Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, several students are still stranded there, desperately waiting to get to a safe zone as the Russian onslaught on the eastern Ukrainian city continued.
As fighting intensified in Kharkiv, India had Wednesday asked its nationals to leave the second-largest Ukrainian city urgently to three nearby places "even on foot", while Russia promised to create "humanitarian corridors" for evacuation of Indians from the conflict zones.
However, the students claimed they are still struggling to get out to safety.
"Just because the night passed and we survived does not mean the struggle is over for us. We are far from being in a safe zone. We did start walking but the railway stations were flooded with people and still haven't been able to board a train," said Firdaus Tarannum, an Indian medical student in Kharkiv.
"We are in a shelter at Pisochyn near Kharkiv. We have no blankets and are left with almost no food. We started walking immediately after the advisory by government. I hope they arrange buses for us soon and we can be out of here," said Rehyam Khan, a first-year medical student.
The Indian embassy in Ukraine on Thursday advised all Indian nationals in Kharkiv to fill up an online form on an urgent basis.
"By grace of God, we are still safe. Very very tough day we had yesterday. Only God saved all of us. We are in Pisochyn where no food is available. Students who took train are desperately waiting to reach a safe zone while many are still stranded," said Pragun, another student.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said the pace of India's evacuation operation from Ukraine is accelerating and about 1,000 Indians have left Kharkiv to nearby Pisochyn pursuant to its advisory a day ago.
"Still more than 1000 students stuck in Kharkiv Oblast. No Indian govt aid yet, not even a piece of bread. Is this the punishment you are giving for choosing small country to pursue our dreams?" tweeted Pooja Prahraj, a student coordinator in Kharkiv.
Russia on Wednesday said it is working "intensely" to create a "humanitarian corridor" for safe passage to Russian territory of Indian nationals stuck in Kharkiv, Sumy and other conflict zones in Ukraine following a request from New Delhi.
Asked when the "humanitarian corridors" will be activated, Alipov said he hoped they would be in place as "soon as possible".
Russia launched its attack on Ukraine last Thursday.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, nearly 17,000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine's borders since advisories were issued over a fortnight back.
An estimated 20,000 Indian nationals, mainly medical students, reside in Ukraine.