Indian Students Fleeing Ukraine Assaulted and Harassed At Borders, Videos Go Viral

Most reports of Indians facing harassment came from the overcrowded Ukraine-Poland border. In one of the videos, a student is seen being kicked repeatedly by a guard in uniform.

New Delhi: With thousands of Indian students attempting to escape war-torn Ukraine from various border points, several videos have gone viral on social media showing some students being stopped, harassed and beaten allegedly by Ukrainian officials. 

Most reports of Indians facing harassment came from the overcrowded Ukraine-Poland border. In one of the videos, a student is seen being kicked repeatedly by a guard in uniform.

Another video shows Ukrainian soldiers firing in the air and forcing students back into Ukraine. A student can be heard saying in a video that she and her friend were pushed and beaten with batons by Ukrainian police personnel. She also claimed that the police tried to ram their vehicles into a group of students.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also shared a video showing girl students being pushed and shoved by border officials. "Look, how are they thrashing the girls," an Indian is heard saying in the video.

Rahul Gandhi said the government should immediately share the detailed evacuation plan with those stranded in Ukraine.

"My heart goes out to the Indian students suffering such violence and their family watching these videos. No parent should go through this. GOI must urgently share the detailed evacuation plan with those stranded as well as their families. We can’t abandon our own people," the Congress leader tweeted.

Another Indian student alleged that they were not being allowed to cross by the Ukrainians over to Poland because the Indian government sided with Russia over the issue.

Some students have also complained that they were kept in an hostage-like situation in the freezing cold and denied water and food.

Another group of 21 Indian students of Chernivtsi National University are stranded in Chernivtsi. Some have alleged that girl students were harassed and beaten by Ukrainian Police guards, IANS reported.

Priya, one of the students, said Indian students were stranded on the roads and running out of money and food.

"For last four days we have been eating only three to four spoons of rice. Now, the Embassy has asked us to board a train on our own risk to move out of the town. We somehow reached Chernivtsi and have spent nearly Rs 2.5 lakh so far. No train was available and we are losing hope," she told IANS.

On Sunday, Ambassador of Poland to India Adam Burakowski announced that Poland would allow Indian students fleeing Ukraine to enter the country without any visa.

Amid several reports of harassment pouring in, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India had conveyed its "deep concerns" to Ukraine and Russia over the safety of its nationals in various Ukrainian cities.

"The Ministry of External Affairs, under the direct supervision of the external affairs minister and the overall guidance of the prime minister, is doing everything possible to make sure the safety, security and interests of our citizens in Ukraine are given the highest priority," PTI quoted Shringla as saying.

Shringla said India had evacuated around 2,000 of its citizens from Ukraine and 1,000 of them were brought back home on chartered flights from Hungary and Romania.

The government has launched 'Operation Ganga' to evacuate the stranded Indians from Ukraine. India has already sent teams to Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine through border-crossing points with these countries.