Many Indians in Ukraine want to return home for good

New Delhi: As the situation worsens in Ukraine, many Indians working in that country are planning to leave for good and return home. This applies to students as well. The majority of Indian medical students are stranded there, even though India has started evacuation flights. Several Indians who were planning to return to India in March are now concerned because grocery stores in Ukraine are running out of stock.
“The situation in Uzhhorod is not one of panic, but the students are trying to return as early as possible. Our landlords have told us to stock groceries and have been supportive. I thought that I would return in March, but now I don’t know what I should do. The flight tickets have soared and it is difficult for us to get flights,” an Indian student in Ukraine told The Sunday Guardian.
Similarly, another student told this correspondent, “My parents are worried and I’m trying to get the tickets. Currently, we have online classes, so attendance is not an issue. Some of my acquaintances, who have jobs here, are also planning to return to India. Yesterday (Wednesday), they were saying that they would leave their job in Ukraine and return to India. Besides, language is a big problem, so most of the medical students prefer returning to India, once they finish their studies.”
Many Indian students claimed that even though they preferred living in Ukraine than in India, but they never imagined that such an invasion would take place. Many students reported hearing bombs and other explosions. Meanwhile, India has started evacuating its nationals, deploying Air India flights to Ukraine’s neighbouring countries, as Ukraine’s airspace is closed. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Thursday that teams had been dispatched to Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Romania’s land borders with Ukraine to assist in the evacuation of Indian citizens. These flights have started returning to India. The first evacuation flight carrying 219 Indian nationals from Ukraine landed in Maharashtra’s Mumbai on Saturday evening. The plane had taken off from the Romanian capital Bucharest on Saturday afternoon.
“The first evacuation flight carrying 219 passengers from Ukraine, has landed in Mumbai. The plane had taken off from the Romanian capital Bucharest this afternoon,” said the Government of India.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal had earlier said that he was looking forward to receiving the Indian nationals safely evacuated from Ukraine at Mumbai airport. The government is working in mission mode to ensure the safety of our citizens, he said.
The Embassy of India in Slovakia on Saturday said that it was in contact with the Government of Slovakia for evacuation of Indian citizens through the Uzhhorod-Vysne Nemecke border.
The Embassy said, “Indian nationals who are stuck in Ukraine and wish to cross the border through Vysne Nemecke are requested to fill the Google form. It is requested that people who are not in close proximity to this border crossing point should not fill the form.” It also shared the contact information of the consular and other officials and guided the people to contact them if possible before starting their journey.
The Indian missions in Bucharest, Budapest and Warsaw are also involved in this exercise to help those who are close to their borders, said the Embassy in an official statement.
Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis, the Indian Embassy in Kiev has advised Indian citizens against moving to any of the border checkpoints without prior coordination with government officials at border posts.
In an advisory to Indian nationals on Saturday, the embassy stressed that the situation at various border checkpoints is sensitive and it is working continuously with Embassies in the neighbouring countries for coordinated evacuation of our citizens. With agency inputs