Ukrainian turns saviour for Chandigarh youth, 50 others
Ukrainian turns saviour for Chandigarh youth, 50 others: In times of war, there are a few who emerge as heroes and whose tales remain unforgettable. Such is the story of 24-year-old Shubham from Chandigarh, who led a group of 50 students, provided them with a safe haven and helped them cross the border.
But his journey could not have been completed had a Ukrainian not provided him the keys of his shop for shelter. The Sector 35 resident has been working for four years in a salon at Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine. When the war started, 50-odd students studying in the nearby university were left stranded as the hostel bunkers went full.
Shubham helped these students find a hideout at the salon, the keys of which were provided by his owner – a Ukrainian. “The basement of the salon acted as a bunker. The owner provided me the keys of his shop, which I used for five-six days to provide shelter to the students of the university.”
We were living in constant fear as there were reports that the Russian army was going to capture a nuclear power plant that was just 100 km from my location and one blast would have jeopardised our lives. The siren would play anytime during the day and no matter what we were doing at the time, we would run for our lives and hide in the shelter. We did not eat because that was not our priority, he added.
The group took the train to Lviv and booked a taxi for the Hungary border, where they were received by Embassy officials. Two more city residents, Saurav Upadhyay and his friend Shelli, also arrived today from Budapest in Hungary. The teens took the decision to leave the country on February 23 and boarded a train to the capital, Kyiv, where they were to take a flight to India. However, sudden attacks and bombings in Kyiv dashed their plans as the flight did not take off.
“We decided to leave the capital and took a train to Lviv and stayed there for three days. An early decision to leave and head towards the western side helped us get to the safest location. Initially, we were trying for the Poland border, but there was a huge rush there and we changed our destination to Hungary,” said Shelli.
Saurav added, “We had decided to keep moving even if the weather went rough because it was the only way out of it. It is because we took the first lead that we were able to guide our friends on the route and joined Shubham and his team in Budapest.”
Ukrainian turns saviour for Chandigarh youth, 50 others
Students still stuck at Pisochyn
While students who were situated in the western part of the country could cross the border, some students are still stuck at Pisochyn, an urban-type settlement at Kharkiv. These students were to board a train from Kharkiv, but could not do so in the wake of bombings and shelling. A group of over 800 students headed towards Pisochyn as advised by the Indian Government.
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Ankur Vatsyayana, a city resident, said, “My nephew is still stuck at Pisochyn, which is also not safe. He sent me videos of bombings that could be heard from his place. There are no bunkers or hideouts at that place. The students there have been without food throughout the day. We are concerned beyond what one can describe.”
