10 students from Karnataka stranded in war-torn Ukraine, CM Basavaraj Bommai says in touch with MEA

“The Indian Embassy in Ukraine has issued guidelines for the safety of Indian students. Action is being taken to bring them back safely once the flight services resume. We are in constant touch with the Foreign Secretary and I will discuss it with our External Affairs minister too,” he added. IFS officer Manoj Rajan has been appointed by the state government as the nodal officer to co-ordinate with the External Affairs Ministry to provide support to people stranded in Ukraine.

Claton D’Souza, a first-year medicine student, had left for Ukraine three months ago. Merwin D’Souza, his father based in Mangaluru, said he was anxious to hear about the bombing by Russian forces in several places in Ukraine.

“He told me that in Kiev, some people have closed their shops and left the city while others have remained. He said that he was in touch with the Indian embassy in Ukraine and a plan for evacuation is being made,” said Merwin, a businessman.

A female student who is senior to Claton and hails from Mangaluru is with him at the university waiting for evacuation, added Merwin.

Sandhya, the mother of another student Anaina Anna who’s stuck in Ukraine, said her daughter has been shifted by authorities to an underground Metro tunnel. “She called me at 7:30 pm today and said she was being shifted to the tunnel which has turned out to be a safe place for citizens from the bombings. She said cellular network may not be available there,” Sandhya said. Her daughter is doing a medicine course at the VN Karazin Kharkiv National University.