Indian tricolour came to rescue of fleeing Pakistani, Turkish students from Ukraine

As the Russian attack on Ukraine continues undeterred, stranded Indians were asked to leave the war-torn nation using any available mode of transport. Under such a crisis, the Indian national flag came to the rescue of not just a group of Indian students but also their Pakistani and Turkish counterparts.

Indian students arrived in the city of Bucharest in Romania from Ukraine with the Indian tricolour unfurled in front of their bus, and it helped them to cross various check posts across the ex-Soviet nation, a student from the group told ANI.

"We were told in Ukraine that being Indians and carrying Indian flag, we won't have any problems," a medical student from Odesa in South Ukraine told ANI.

The students were headed to the Romanian city of Bucharest to avail the evacuation flights sent from India under 'Operation Ganga'. Air India, Spice Jet and Indigo are a part of the special operation to retrieve all Indians stuck in Ukraine in the wake of the escalating offensive by Russia.

'Indian tricolour with colour spray and curtain'

With minimum access to life-saving supplies, the visiting Indian students struggled to reach the market after the Indian embassy announced that possessing an Indian flag would help individuals stay safe under the given circumstances.

"I ran to the market brought some colour sprays and curtains. I then cut the curtain and spray-painted it to make the Indian colour," another student in the group added. The students, mostly from the southern part of Ukraine were on their journey to Molodova to reach Romania.

Indian tricolour helps rescue Pakistani and Turkish students

The batch of stranded Indian students also included some Pakistani and Turkish nationals. The smart move by Indian students helped their neighbouring nationals to pass checkpoints.

"The Turkish and Pakistani students were also using the Indian flag. It helped them to get across checkpoints without hindrance," a student said.

"We booked the bus from Odesa and came to the Molodova border. The Moldovan citizens were very nice. They provided us with free accommodation and taxis and buses to get to Romania," he added.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a 21-year-old student from Karnataka was killed in Ukraine's Kharkiv while he was standing in queue for food. Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar was a final-year medical student at the Kharkiv National Medical University. He lived near a government building in Kharkiv that was blown up by Russian soldiers. As per reports, he had spoken to his father before going out for food and supplies.

Russia-Ukraine war

Kyiv and Moscow have been loggerheads since 2014, after Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula. The standoff expanded after Moscow deployed over 1,50,000 troops along the east Ukrainian borders. On February 21, Russia escalated the crisis by formally recognising the independence of two breakaway regions of Ukraine and later on February 24, unleashed unprovoked military operations on Ukraine.

So far, at least 352 civilians and military personnel have been killed on the Ukrainian side, in addition to massive infrastructural damages. Meanwhile, Russia continued its shelling in the outskirts of the city. The countries step into seventh day of devastation and destruction, pushing over millions out of their homes and thousands fleeing the country in fear.

(With ANI inputs)

(Image: ANI/AP)