In between Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, the city Lviv in Western Ukraine has become the city of refugees.
Several people have come to Lviv from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, and other places to save their and their family’s lives. One of the Ukrainian citizens said, Volunteer in Lviv give us a whole house, I am very grateful to them, it is peaceful here.
He said that I left the Kyiv region on February 25, then I took the evacuation train, and now I am safe here in Lviv. But I get news from one of my friends who is hiding in the Kyiv area, some are sleeping in metro stations, some others are left from Kyiv for Poland. I left Kyiv after the first rocket hit the city Kyiv, my friends were scared to leave because the Russian army had besieged the capital city Kyiv and there were only a few ways to escape. When we were left there was a massive crowd at the stations everywhere, which were overcrowded. Many Ukrainian and foreigners started the train, we were able to board the train because we have two kids and some people were kind enough to clear the seats for us.
An Indian citizen Gagan Moga said that he will not go back to India as his wife is a Ukrainian citizen and only Indians are evacuated under Operation Ganga.
Moga said I am an Indian citizen but my wife is Ukrainian, I have been told that only Indians will be evacuated, I cannot leave my family here, my wife is 8 months pregnant, will go to Poland. We are currently at a friend’s house in Lviv.
In talking about the challenges faced by the people due to the intense fighting between Russia and Ukraine, he said, people from Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson are leaving the city, I cannot express their pain, those who are capable are going and those who are not are still stuck there.
I cannot put in words what difficulties I faced in reaching Lviv, if you had seen the struggle and the situation, you would have known how frightening it was. I was in a region called Bucha (Kyiv); it was the center of the battle between the Russian and Ukrainian armies. We heard bombs, missiles every second, every minute, and every day, we saw fighter plans. It was a dreadful and dangerous time for me.
However, my friend and I managed to escape as we had a vehicle and somehow arranged for petrol and came to Lviv after two days of the ordeal. In the further talk, he said; I am thinking about to go Poland as my wife will allow me to go there. He also urged India to try to stop this Russian military operation in Ukraine and New Delhi should do something that they can.
Published By: Khushboo Mehta
Edited By: Kritika Kashyap
