Students, some of whom are Indians, stranded at the Ukraine-Poland border have sent out videos alleging that Ukrainian police and army personnel have been forcing them back into Ukraine by firing shots in the air and attempting to drive their cars into the crowds. The students have also alleged that the officials have beaten and kicked them.
Videos of the police brutality over civilians stuck in a war-struck country have surfaced on social media.
Countless Indian students have been communicating remotely with their families in India in this war-torn time.
Angel, a student hailing from Kerala, can be heard saying in a video that she and her friend were pushed and beaten. “This is too bad, this is not the way that the Ukraine government or military should treat foreign citizens. This is not how we expect help,” she said.
Anubhav Chandel, another student from Dum Dum near Kolkata, is also trying to reach the Poland border with four of his friends. Chandel said, “The journey may be risky but we want to get out of this nightmare.”
A few days back, a meeting was held between the students and the professors of the medical college to take stock of the situation and make the foreign students aware of the future course of action on the basis of ground reality.
An Indian Embassy advisory said that Indian nationals, especially students living close to the Romanian and Hungarian border checkpoints, are being advised to depart first in an organised manner, in coordination with teams from the Ministry of External Affairs.
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine War
The Russian army has launched coordinated missile attacks on several Ukrainian cities including the capital city Kyiv, on Thursday in Europe’s worst conflict in decades that was launched by Vladimir Putin.
A number of World leaders have condemned the invasion and imposed sanctions against Russia, however, they have left little to no impact on the war-driven country. The US, EU, UK, and other allies have reportedly agreed to remove some Russian banks from the Swift payments system.
Germany also announces it is sending anti-tank missiles and other weapons to Ukraine – marking a major change in policy.
A curfew has been put in place from Saturday to Monday morning after Russian missiles hit an oil depot in Vasylkiv, its mayor said, which has prompted fears of toxic fumes. Anyone who is seen on the street during the curfew will be treated as a Russian “saboteur”, said the capital’s mayor.
A large number of people have already fleed Ukraine, while some attempt to flee the war-struck country with a 27-hour-long queue of women and children, on the Moldovan border.
Heavy street fighting took place in Kyiv on Saturday as officials urged locals to take immediate shelter. Kyiv was struck by two missiles. As many as 198 Ukrainians, including three children, have been killed since the invasion began.
(With IANS inputs)
