Ukraine returnee students have mixed feelings about returning to the war-torn country 

The Indian students who returned from Ukraine are worried and confused about their future. Several students had to forego their studies abruptly due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war to save themselves. Several Andhra Pradesh students have faced a lot of hardships to reach border countries and to evacuate the country.

Still recovering from that nightmare, Sai Kamalesh, an Economics graduate at Kyiv National Economic University, said, "Right now, I've no intention to return to Ukraine. I can't still get over the horrors we faced while pushing down from the train and being attacked by the local people. I don't think I can ever feel safe there, so I'm looking for other options even if I've to start the course all over again. Though I completed one year of the course, I will rejoin the course elsewhere. I'm considering studying Economics in Canada." 

Many medical universities in Ukraine have already started online classes for students. N Sirisha, a fourth-year medico at Vinnytsia National Pirogov Medical University is ready to return to Ukraine if she has to, in order to complete her studies. The university has started online classes for the students this week. Speaking about her classes, she said, "Attending online classes is not new for us, as we have already got used to them during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to our management, we got information that our offline classes will start from September." Explaining her willingness to return to the war-torn country, she said, "I really hope the situation gets better in the next few months so that we can return to our colleges. The course pattern is completely different in India compared to Ukraine and it will all get messy to discontinue there and start again. So, I'm more willing to continue my course in Ukraine." 

On the other hand, R Roja, a third-year medical student at Kharkiv Medical University is still uncertain about returning. She said that they were told that their classes might start in the offline mode by March 20 and they might be required to return to Ukraine. Explaining her unpreparedness to return to the war-torn country, she said, "I have not completely recovered from all the incidents I had to bear to reach India. I don't know if I'll even be able to cope so soon. The Indian Government should give us clarity so that we can plan accordingly whether to wait here or to return to our universities."