Last flight from Poland in: Stopped even for stragglers, says minister

“Harjot is okay. There was some delay in getting him out as there was an attack on Vinnytsia airport because of which there was a heavy jam. After a lot of effort, our embassy in Ukraine was able to get him out. They reached the airport at around 04:30 am,” said minister VK Singh who also returned on the same flight. He was in Poland to coordinate the evacuation of Indian citizens. Many aboard the flight on Monday were from the eastern city of Kharkiv that was being bombed heavily.

He further said, “He has been sent to the Research and Referral hospital for treatment. No one can treat bullet wounds better than the army hospital.”

He added that embassy officials have been left behind at the border in case more people reach there. Now, Indians from most Ukranian cities have been evacuated, barring the north-eastern city of Sumy.

“By the time this flight took off, we had evacuated 3,000 children. No more people were coming. Even for the stragglers, we stopped the aircraft. It is possible that there are some children who did not come, so at the border check-post there are people from the embassy so that if someone comes they can be brought home. There is no announcement on any windup of the operations. But I was to bring back all students who reached us till the end. So, I have taken the last flight from Poland,” said VK Singh.

On-board the flight was Akhil from Kerala who travelled with his 1.6-year-old Yorkshire named Hutchiko. He was stuck for over five days at Kharkiv before walking 10-kms with his dog to the train station on March 1. Even though he was scared about the bombings, he did not leave Kharkiv till he knew that animals were being allowed on the evacuation flights.

Akhil with his 1.6-year-old pet Hutchiko has returned from Kharkiv (Express photo)

“He is a part of my family, I couldn’t leave him behind,” said Akhil. Amid food shortage, Hutchiko went hungry for three days. “It was so bad that he kept sleeping, he wouldn’t wake up. That we went out and got some milk and bread. If there was food, he was the first to get it. I ate whatever was left,” he said. At Hindon airport, Akhil took to feeding Hutchiko. The Yorkshire was nervous about boarding an aircraft for the first time in his life and did not eat anything through the day.

Ajay Kumar from Bihar, who would have completed his medical education this June, stayed back for seven days in Poland to help his fellow medical students crossing the border. He left the capital Kyiv four days after the war started. “It was scary. I lived on the top floor of my building; it is the most likely to get hit by a missile. The airstrike sirens and running to the bunker 200 metres away was also scary.”

So, like many of his fellow students, he walked to the train station and boarded a train to the Western city of Lviv from where he crossed the border to Poland. “What worked in my favour was that I know the language, I know the roads. I was able to board the train because I could speak their language. And, when I crossed Poland border, at the place where we were staying there were people from other nationalities volunteering. I decided to stay back and help too; with simple things like getting bedding and food. Helping other with the language, whatever I could before taking the last flight out,” he said.