As the Russia-Ukraine war escalates, over 300 students from Assam are stuck and awaiting a signal from the Embassy to reach Romania, Hungary, and Poland border. These students are mostly medical students out of which 45 are stuck in Sumy, bordering Russia. According to reports, the students are all safe. One of the students, Shahid Iqbal, a 5th-year medical student from Sumy said that they are under curfew and at home. He said that they withdraw some money and bought food for 3-4 days adding that they couldn’t catch the flight as Air Space is closed due to traffic.
Another student Neelam Kalita, a 5th-year student said that friends and family are in touch and calling them every hour. The area in which they are living has Russian army roaming around since morning. There are a total of around 330 students in Ukraine now. All of them are inside their respective residence. The travel coordinators are in touch with the embassy for any direction. A few tried to catch a bus to Kyiv but turned back. The Assam government has raised the concern about the safety of Assam students in Ukraine to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) regarding the situation. Many students particularly those studying medical sciences in Ukraine from Assam are stuck amid the crisis. Ramiz Alam, a 4th-year medical student in Ternopil in Western Ukraine told Times Now about the uncertainty of the situation.”For now, I’m safe but don’t know what is going to happen next. There is a panic among the people. Many are hoarding food supplies from the markets and few locals have fled to the neighboring countries.
Meanwhile, all our flights are canceled and we can’t go back,” added Alam. Western Ukraine hosts a lot of Assamese diasporas who are primarily studying medical science-related subjects. An Assamese student in the Sumy area of Ukraine has claimed that the situation has turned hostile as the bomb explosions have happened 50 km away from and situations have turned hostile.
