Indian Students Head Back To Ukraine Campuses

Indian medical students who had to flee from Ukraine after Russia invaded the country about six months ago, are not going back to campus after the Universities called them back. At least six of them have already resumed their classes. 

One of these students is Anurag Krishna, who hails from Bhagalpur, Bihar. He is a fourth-year student studying at the National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, located in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Despite the war, he is anxious to finish his studies. After his University called him to attend offline classes, he quickly responded. He had to travel from Delhi to Istanbul, from where he managed to take a flight to Moldova, a former Soviet Republic, on 7th July. After that, he reached Vinnytsia, Ukraine, by road. 

As part of their practical classes, students in Ukraine visit a clinic in the capital city of Ukraine, Kyiv. Needless to say, the situation is still unpredictable, and the students opting for offline classes are coming at their own risk. As protection, sandbags have been placed near the buildings’ windows. The medical universities will begin their hybrid mode classes on 1st September.

Another Indian student named Jinovince from Thiruvananthapuram has reached Ukraine through Moldova. Navaneetha Sriram from Kovilpatti, Tamil Nady will be travelling to Moldova soon, along with his three friends. All four are students of the National Pirogov Memorial Medical University.

Jinovince, while talking about his time in Ukraine when the war broke out, said that during that time, around 50 university students came to his apartment in March and decided to move out of Ukraine. They travelled via train to cross the border and then reached Hungary. After that, they managed to go back to India. Jinovince attended his online classes at home. There were students already attending online classes because of COVID-19 restrictions. Because of the war, online classes were back once again. 

Jinovince, who is in his final semester, had some trouble reaching Moldova. His online course won’t be recognized by India’s National Medical Council. So, he had to travel to Dubai, from where he flew to Moldova. The authorities initially refused him to travel, but after he told them about his situation, he was allowed to board a flight. His advice to students travelling to Ukraine is to fly out from one of the Gulf countries as Indian authorities won’t allow them to travel.