Explosions everywhere, harsh treatment of Ukraine army: Pettah native Ashwin opens up about his life-threatening experiences

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ashwin Shekhar, a native of Pettah Pallimukku, was in Ukraine for three months only. But the experience he had there was life-threatening. Ashwin joined the Lviv National Medical University in Ukraine on November 23 last year. He went to Ukraine after failing to get a seat here despite appearing twice for the entrance exam here.

Ashwin and his friends were attending online classes even when the war was raging. The terror was felt from the next day as people started rushing to buy goods and flee. By then, Sajith Shekhar and Bhagyalakshmi had arranged Ashwin's return ticket. But when the airport closed, everything reached a dead end.

The cold at the Polish border, the lack of food, and the behavior of the Ukrainian soldiers were painful. There were 40 Malayalees in Ashwin's batch. He traveled on a bus to the Sheheen border, 80 km from Lviv, at a cost of Rs 1,500 per person. And then he walked 20 km. He stood in a queue at the border for two days. I forgot to pick up the sweater because of the severity of the cold.

48 hours without food

Ashwin and his team waited for 48 hours without food or water. The behaviour of the Ukrainian military towards foreigners was painful. A foreigner is allowed to cross the border after 13 Ukrainians. On the third day, Ashwin returned to the hostel after losing hope and reached Poland through the newly opened border. From there he reached Kochi and then Thiruvananthapuram.

"I was relieved when I arrived in Poland and was very happy when I got home", Ashwin said. When Ashwin told said he is looking forward to returning to a war-less Ukraine, his brother Alvin replied that he is not going anywhere.