“We were airlifted from safe zones, not evacuated from a war zone.”
This is what many Indian students, who study in war-ravaged Ukraine, said after reaching India.
Many Indian students, on Thursday, burst out in anger after reporters asked students about the Indian government’s evacuation process.
“Stop terming it an evacuation. We were nor evacuated from Ukraine where a war is ongoing. We were rather airlifted from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries that are far away from where actual war is going on,” said one of the Indian students.
Echoing similar sentiment, another student said: “Many of us were on our own. We walked for miles to get ourselves out of the war zone. Yes, the Indian embassy helped some students initially, but left most of the students on their own, issuing advisories to proceed towards the western borders of Ukraine.”
Also read: Ukraine war: Estimated few hundred Indians still remain stranded in ‘battlefield’ Kharkiv
“We saved ourselves by ensuring we cross the border,” said another Indian student.
“Our call for not calling the process an evacuation would be justified when I say that many of the Indian students were manhandled at the borders in Ukraine. Many were beaten up. Had it been an evacuation, the Indian students would not have been beaten up,” said another student.
“The only thing that saved our lives was the Indian national flag, not the government,” said a student.
Another student after arriving in Delhi said: “Transportation is nor evacuation.”
Also read: Russia says 130 buses ready to evacuate Indians and other foreigners from Ukraine