By PTI
PHAGWARA: Parul Pal considers herself lucky for returning to India well before the Russia’s military onslaught against Ukraine but she is worried for her friends, who are still stuck in the war-torn country.
Parul, a sixth-year medical student in Kyiv Medical University at Ukraine, came back on February 18.
“I was lucky enough that I came here on February 18 from Ukraine and the war broke out there on February 24,” she said while talking to reporters here.
Only three months are left to complete her MBBS degree, she said.
She said as she was to attend a family function here.
She had booked her air ticket earlier and came here on February 18.
“War broke out between Russia and Ukraine just six days after I had reached here,” she said.
“My other friends were not so lucky as they are still stuck up in several parts of war-torn Ukraine, including Kharkiv, and facing very hard times there,” she said.
She urged the Indian government to put into use all resources and means to evacuate Indian citizens, mostly medical students studying in medical universities and colleges of Ukraine.
She said, “A medical student Naveen Shekarappa of Karnataka was killed in Russian shelling in Kharkiv and such tragic incidents are a nightmare for parents.”
“Our government must put in all resources and means to immediately evacuate all students. I have many friends there, including Kharkiv, and I have learnt that they were having hard time. Parents of students stuck up there are on edge and having sleepless nights,” she says.
She said talks about a possible war threat were in the air when she was there but most people took these lightly.
“No one expected that Ukraine would be invaded by Russia and things would go from bad to worse,” she said.
About the behaviour of Ukrainian people, Parul said it was very cordial and friendly and she never faced any problem.
Meanwhile, parents of Vishal Sharma (25), who is still in Ukraine, are worried and urged the government to bring him back safely.
Batala businessman Rajinder Sharma, father of Vishal, who is a sixth-year medical student at Sumy state university in Ukraine, said his son informed that the situation there was not good and there was sound of bombing and shelling.
He said no mode of transportation was available to come out of the city.
Most students don’t have cash as ATMs are not functional, he said.
Major Singh, whose daughter Harpreet Kaur is also in Sumy, said it is very difficult to move out of the city when bombing is taking place.
