Several videos have gone viral on social media showing some Indian students being stopped, harassed, and abused purportedly by Ukrainian officials as they attempt to flee war-torn Ukraine from various border points. The majority of reports of harassment of Indians came from the overcrowded Ukraine-Poland border. In one of the recordings, a student is repeatedly booted by a uniformed guard.
Some students have also expressed their concern at being held captive in the severe cold and without access to water and food.
On social media, there have been videos of police brutality against citizens in a war-torn country.
In Chernivtsi, another set of 21 Indian students from Chernivtsi National University has been trapped. Some claim that Ukrainian police guards harassed and abused female students.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, the Congress’s opposition leader, has expressed his concern about Indians being harassed and tortured in Ukraine. “My heart breaks for the Indian students who have been subjected to such brutality, as well as their families who are seeing these recordings. This should never happen to a parent. The Government of India needs to share the detailed evacuation strategy with individuals who are stuck and their families as soon as possible. We can’t just let our own people to fend for themselves “He used Twitter to express himself.
On Sunday, Poland’s Ambassador to India, Adam Burakowski, declared that Indian students fleeing Ukraine will be granted visa-free entry to Poland. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India had expressed its “serious worries” to Ukraine and Russia over the safety of its citizens in several Ukrainian cities in the wake of many allegations of harassment.
“Under the direct supervision of the external affairs minister and the overall guidance of the prime minister, the Ministry of External Affairs is doing everything possible to ensure that the safety, security, and interests of our citizens in Ukraine are given the highest priority,” Shringla said, as quoted by PTI.
Meanwhile, on Monday morning, India’s Prime Minister convened a high-level meeting to discuss the evacuation of Indian students from Ukraine. It was decided to dispatch certain Union ministers to Ukraine’s bordering countries to assist in the evacuation of Indians from the war-torn country.
