KASARGOD: Russia should declare a ceasefire and create a window for the students to get out of Ukraine, said worried parents in Kasaragod.
"We don't see how else can our children come home safely," said Dr. Kayinhi, medical officer at the Government Family Health Centre in Chattanchal.
He is shattered after hearing the news of the death of Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar (20), a fourth-year student of Kharkiv National Medical University in Ukraine.
Dr. Kayinhi's daughter Fathimath Rinasa is a second-year student of the same university. Rinasa, and her classmates Muhammed Roshan of Chembarika and S M Ibtihal of Meepugiri in Kasaragod are holed up in the Kharkiv metro station for the past five days.
"The shelling is happening at faraway places but the shrapnel is flying up to the station," said Dr. Kayinhi based on messages from his daughter.
Tuesday morning, a Ukrainian woman standing outside the station was injured by shrapnel.
Ibtihal's father M K Muhammed said the shelling began soon after they got back into the metro station after collecting their clothes from their flat, which is two minutes walk from the station. "They are all safe as of now," he said.
The three students came home in June and returned to Kharkiv in September 2021.
There are 10 other Indians with them and many other Ukrainians. "For the past five days, the Ukrainian authorities have been providing them with food," said Dr. Kayinhi.
The parents said the students are finding it hard to find transport to get to the borders as advised by the embassy.
On February 24, the Kollam-based agency which took the students to Ukraine had booked a chartered flight for March 5 to get the students out. But the situation has now spiralled out of control since then.
"It is too risky for the students to get out now, considering the frequent shelling in Kharkiv," he
said. The city is just 40km from the Russian borders. "Without a ceasefire, it looks impossible to get out," he said.
The district administration said 44 residents from Kasaragod are in Ukraine. It has started a control room (04994 257700) to disseminate information to the families.