PALAKKAD: Suresh Kumar and Archana were tense when TNIE met them at their residence in Valiyapadam in Palakkad on Thursday. Their two children, Girish Menon and Lakshmi, are pursuing their six-year medicine course at Bukovinian State Medical University (BSMU) in Chernivtsi in Ukraine. While Girish is in the fifth year, his sister is a third-year student.
Speaking to TNIE from Chernvtsi, Girish said they are staying in the hostel. They attended the online classes even on Thursday. However, as the shelling intensified, the classes ended early. The college authorities had been taking offline classes for the past two weeks ago but they announced that they would now switch online till February 25.
Girish said around 400 students from his university left for the Kiev airport on Wednesday on their way to India. It takes nine-ten hours to reach Kiev by road or rail. “However, as the flights have been cancelled due to the Russian attack, all 400 students are now stranded in the Indian Embassy.
They could not return to Chernvtsi as the roads were blocked,” he said. Earlier, the students were told to go to the houses of their friends but later the embassy officials received an advisory to accommodate the students themselves.
Girish said his sister and he had tried for tickets on February 24, 25 and 26 to no avail. “Now, both of us have confirmed tickets for March 5. Now, a one-way ticket to India costs around Rs 70,000 which is double the normal airfare,” he said. There are around 10,000 Indian students in the various universities of Ukraine. Around 2,500 students have returned to India, he added.
Girish said he has foodstuffs for one week in his room. The groceries and essential commodities are fast running out in the supermarkets. Many shops have already been closed. There is no money in the ATMs.
He said Chernvtsi is just 22km from the Romanian border and it is said that India would evacuate its citizens from Romania after arranging a border pass. As of now, there is no problem in his town, he added.
As Girish narrated the developments, his mother Archana advised him not to venture outside but stay put in the room.
He said the Ivano-Frankivsk airstrip, which is 40km from Chernvtsi, is the nearest to his place in Ukraine. Only the main airports, armoury godowns and military installations were attacked by the Russian troops on Thursday.