Hundreds of Indian students are trapped at the Sumy State University.
In a sign of how desperate the situation is in war-hit Ukraine, Indian students at a hostel in the northeastern city of Sumy were seen in a video collecting snow to melt for water.
They say about 800-900 Indian students have been confined in the hostels of the Medical Institute of Sumy State University for over a week and have nearly run out of food and water.
They have no leads for an evacuation and have already issued an appeal to the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, "We'll all be killed".
"Nothing has been done for us. We have seen some foreign students leave Sumy on their own, but they were shot. We have videos to show it," an Indian student said in the message. Behind him, about a hundred students are standing, all looking worried.
"We have been expecting the government to help, but we have got no information. Some are saying buses are waiting at the Russian border, which is about 50 km from here. If we walk from the hostel, there are snipers in all four directions, everywhere. We fear airstrikes. Bombardment is happening every 20 minutes," the student said.
"We request Narendra Modi ji, please take us out of here, or else we will be killed. If we walk out from here on our own, we will be killed. We request the government of India, please help us," he added.
The Indian embassy last week warned of intense fighting in Kharkiv, Sumy and Kyiv. Reports say trains and buses have stopped running in Sumy, roads and bridges out of the city have been destroyed, and there is heavy street fighting.
The government has flown home thousands of Indian students who have managed to reach the western border in Ukraine. It has said it would operate as many evacuation flights as needed under Operation Ganga and flights are the least of the worries.
How the students would reach the western border from cities deep inside Ukraine is the biggest worry.