THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The last batch of Indian students in the war-torn Ukrainian city of Sumy has crossed the country’s border with Poland and are set to leave for India on Thursday. After a 13-day ordeal since the Russia-Ukraine war began, the students of Sumy State University, were evacuated from the war-torn northeastern city on Tuesday.
After a seven-hour journey from Sumy to Poltava, that would take a little over over three hours during peace time, the students, numbering 694, reached the central Ukraninan city late on Tuesday. From Poltava, they headed to Lviv, just 70 km from the border with Poland on trains.
“Our journey from Sumy was smooth, with the Indian embassy officials coordinating the process at each point. At Lviv too, we were able to board the special train without much delay,” Krishnanand V, a fourth-year medical student of Sumy State University, told TNIE en-route to the Ukraine-Poland border.
India’s Ambassador to Ukraine Partha Satpathy was present at Lviv to coordinate the students’ onward journey to the western border. According to Embassy officials, the ceasefire that was in effect on Wednesday as well, was helpful in the speedy evacuation of Indian students from Ukraine.
‘All Indians evacuated’
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said the Ministry of External Affairs had successfully undertaken the arduous mission of evacuating students through the highly-risky Sumy-Poltava-Lviv-Poland route. He said all Indian nationals who sought the government’s help were evacuated from the war-torn country.
“Right from the beginning of the evacuation process, the Union government has been giving prime importance to the safety of Indian citizens. We were able to accomplish the mission overcoming criticism from certain quarters,” Muraleedharan said.