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Living in a war-torn country is the worst nightmare one can ever face. For thousands of students and professionals from around the world, studying and working in Ukraine, life suddenly turned tough and uncertain when the Russian forces decided to advance into Ukrainian territory last week. Now, they want to be back with their loved ones and their emotions echo only one thing Please evacuate us soon. Even as the Indian government has started the evacuation process, we spoke to students and professionals living in Ukraine on how they are sailing through this challenging period.Want to be evacuated as soon as possiblePoojan Modi, a third year MBBS student at Ternopil National Medical University, who was stuck for four days between the Poland and Ukrainian border, has finally reached Slovakia. Its been the most difficult time of my life. I cant even begin to explain what my friend Ankush Purohit and I have been through. I was at the border with about 1200 other students from Ternopil. We walked over 40 kms and it took us nine hours as the temperatures dipped to -5 degree Celsius for most part of our journey, says Poojan, who will be boarding a flight to India soon.Talking about her trauma, Hetal Patil, a fourth year medical student says, It has been really traumatic. I cant even tell my parents, who live in Surat, what we all are going through. I have to keep giving them hope and stay strong when I speak to them. The only thing that is dominant in our mind is the evacuation process.After 8 PM, the siren goes off and from our hostel rooms, we move to the bunkersHartik Joshi, whos from Ranavav near Porbandar, is studying medicine in Ukraine. A student of Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, Mykolaiv, Hartik says they are left with water to last them just a day and food for two more days. Our life has changed dramatically since the war was announced. We are in our hostels from 8 am to 8 pm. After 8 pm, the siren goes off and we have to go to the bunkers. All through the night we just hear shelling, bomb blasts and more, says 22-year-old Hartik. I sensed things would become difficult, so I decided to fly back to India on February 15Pratik Panchal took the first flight out of Ukraine on February 15. Around February 14, there were talks that Russia might launch an attack on Ukraine in the coming days. So, I booked my flight on February 15 for the same day. As someone living in Kyiv, we could sense the tension that was brewing even before the world media started covering the war. I thought it was too risky to stay there any longer, says 26-year-old Pratik, who was in Ukraine on a work visa. I have set up a business there, so I know that if things get better, I can always go back. I had an advantage over those studying since their future depends on the university or college, says Pratik, who spent `70,000 for a ticket that usually costs `25,000. He had plans to shift his base to Poland soon. Had the tension not brewed between these countries, I would have already applied for my visa to Poland, where I wish to settle now.Going back to India is not an option for usNot everyone who is in Ukraine currently wants to come back. Deep Patel, 23, went to Kyiv from Vadodara just before the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world. I was lucky not to be in India during the pandemic-induced lockdown. But what has transpired over the last few days has been scary, says Deep, who went to Kyiv to study a local language course. Over the past five days, Deep along with his four friends drove from Kyiv to the Poland border. It took them 96 hours to drive about 800 kms. When the first bombing took place, Deep was fast asleep. I heard a loud thud around seven-eight kms from our house, and the next thing we heard was a missile. So, immediately we decided to move towards Poland which we thought was a safer option, says Deep, who doesn't intend to come back to India. He is on a 53 day visa to Poland. My friend who lived in Poland invited us over and we are staying at her place for a few days. Meanwhile, we will decide our next course of action but we are not going back to India. If we go back, we might not be able to come back considering the ongoing pandemic, says Deep, whose parents and family members want him to return to India.

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Evacuation is the only thing on our mind: Gujarat students in Ukraine - Times of India