Many have made desperate appeals for help
Indian students, who were evacuated from war-hit Ukraine and arrived in New Delhi on Monday morning, alleged that Indian nationals are being discriminated against by the Ukrainian authorities as they try to flee amid Russia's invasion.
One of the students, who identified himself as Praveen Kumar, said Indians and Nigerians are not being allowed to cross over the border. "The Ukrainian authorities are allowing their own people but not us," he said. "We had to walk for about 15 kilometers to reach the border," Mr Kumar added.
Another student, Shubham Kumar, said there is a lot of uncertainty and confusion over the evacuation process. "There are several more Indians still stranded in Ukraine and the main problem is crossing the border," he said.
Mr Kumar claimed that students are also being harassed, beaten by the Ukrainian guards at the Poland border.
Hoping for an escape from the ravaging war, Indian students have been sleeping in parks in temperature below minus 4 degrees at the border check points. Many have made desperate appeals for help, sharing photos and videos on social media, requesting the Indian government to put an end to their ordeal.
India is evacuating its people stranded in Ukraine through bordering Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Romania as the Ukrainian airspace was shut down following Russian bombing of several cities, including the capital Kiev.
In a fresh advisory, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine said on Saturday that Indian citizens should not move to any of the border posts without prior coordination with the Indian government officials there using the helpline numbers.
"All Indian Citizens in Ukraine are advised not to move to any of the border posts without prior coordination with Government of India officials at the border posts and the Emergency numbers of Embassy of India, Kyiv," the advisory read.
The Indian government has also set up a dedicated Twitter handle to assist in the evacuation of Indians from Ukraine under Operation Ganga.