NASHIK: Hundreds of Indian students from the Kharkiv National Medical University (KNMU) are a stressed lot as they continue to take shelter in the basements of their hostels and residential buildings since the past five days after Russia launched its attack on Ukraine. Their panic has spilled on to their parents too, who have been spending sleepless nights praying for their speedy return.
The situation in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, remains tense following a gun battle between the Ukrainian and Russian forces on Sunday.
The parents of two Nashik students from KNMU told TOI that there was no communication with their children for the whole of Sunday.
"Usually, I speak to my son Prateek thrice a day ever since the Russia-Ukraine conflict started. But on Sunday, my calls to him remained unanswered. He also did not respond to my WhatsApp messages. We have been extremely tense since the gun battle between the armies of the two countries," said Prateek's father Promod Jondhale.
Prateek, who has been in touch with TOI, did not respond to messages sent to him since Sunday.
On Monday afternoon, however, Prateek called his father informing him that although the situation is tense in the city, they are safe and continuing to stay in the basement of the university hostel.
