Indian Students Stuck in Ukraine, After Flight Supposed to Bring Them Home Was Not Allowed to Land in Kiev

Several Indian students have remained in Ukraine, as flights to evacuate them can no longer be operated after the Eastern European country announced a state of emergency and a shut-down of all flights and airports.

The Indian Embassy in Kyiv has asked all its nationals to leave the country immediately, and later a special flight operated by Air India landed in Ukraine to evacuate the students, Erudera.com reports.

However, a second flight designated to bring more students home could not land in Kyiv on Thursday after the government ordered a shut-down of all airports, in addition to the airspace being declared as unsafe.

Indian students in Ukraine reported hearing explosions on Thursday morning after Russia began its invasion.

“I was sleeping, and my friends called me after they heard explosions,” Sohail, a student from Hyderabad in Ukraine, said, also adding that students had shared several videos of the explosions that could be seen in different parts of the country.

Another student, Sayan Chowdhury, who studies at Ivanov Frankivsk National Medical University in Ukraine, also shared how he is dealing with the situation, pointing out that he couldn’t fly earlier than March in India or it would cost him about $266 or $398 as the prices have gone up for a lakh – estimated to be equal of $130.

“There were long queues at ATMs, but most were empty. Even our credit cards were not working initially. Indian students gathered outside grocery stores, and later in the day, we got a message from our banks that our credit cards were operational,” Chowdhury told MINT, also revealing he managed to buy food for the next few weeks.

In a bid to help its students, the Indian government has opened a non-stop helpline in New Delhi to help students stuck in Ukraine.

According to an advisory published by the Indian Embassy in Kyiv, the Ukrainian airspace has been closed; thus, the schedule of special flights has been cancelled, but other alternatives were being arranged, and students would shortly be relocated to the western part of the country.

About 20,000 Indian students attend their higher education at Ukrainian universities, especially in the medical field, as those universities have good infrastructure and less expensive programs.

Tuition fees for MBBS vary between $3,500 and $5,000, which is more than half of what private institutions in India charge for the same courses. The Indian Medical Council also accepts degrees from Ukraine as valid for graduates to practice their expertise.

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