A student-shot video purportedly shows Indians sitting on a road near the Ukraine-Poland border. Border agents are seen kicking and assaulting Indian students in the footage. Some posts further claim that African students were beaten and kicked at national borders by security authorities.
Many students on the Ukraine-Poland border have posted videos claiming that Ukrainian army and police are forcing them back into Ukraine from the Polish border by firing in the air and attempting to drive their cars into the throng. Other recordings show soldiers at country borders hitting Indian students, although it’s unclear which country they belong to.
In a video, Angel, a Malayali student, can be heard alleging that she and her classmate were shoved and beaten. Angel went on to say that the Ukrainian military didn’t care if the cops tried to ram their vehicles into the throng of students. “It’s a shame, because this is not how the Ukrainian government or military should treat foreign citizens.” “This is not how we expect to be helped,” she stated.
Other images and videos showed a sea of students waiting at the border of Ukraine-Poland to cross over into the country.
Many students have taken shelter in bunkers and thousands of them are trying to cross over to other neighbouring countries on foot after being given an assurance of help.
21-year-old Shana Shaji of Kerala told PTI on Saturday, February 26, that they were only left with food for one day, and that they were hiding in a metro bunker.
Metro stations have turned into bunkers as people have taken shelter to escape bombardment amid the raging military conflict.
With Ukraine closing its airspace after Russia launched the military operation, the Indian government sent teams to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Romania to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals.
An Air India flight had conveyed 219 students stranded in Ukraine to Mumbai on Saturday. Another flight from Bucharest had carried 250 Indian nationals, including many students, to Delhi on Sunday. Five such flights have operated so far. Further evacuation effort are underway, under Operation Ganga by the government of India.
Indian students in Ukraine have been asked to travel to the borders of the neighbouring Poland, Romania, and Hungary in order for evacuation.
In a welcome gesture, Poland is allowing Indian students who escape from Russian aggression in Ukraine to enter Poland without any visa, Ambassador of Poland to India Adam Burakowski announced.
Meanwhile, fighting is underway in Ukraine where Russian troops continue their military invasion of the resisting country. The delegations of the two nations are scheduled to meet for talks on Monday.
Round-the-clock helplines for Indians in Ukraine:
There are still around 16,000 Indian students still stranded in Ukraine, as per NDTV. Many have made desperate appeals for help, sharing photos and videos on social media from underground bunkers, and bomb shelters, where they have been sheltering from Russian bombs and missiles.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
