Chennai: Even as the Indian government is planning to evacuate thousands of students from war-hit Ukraine, many Tamil students are sharing their stories of woes.

Around 5,000 Tamilnadu students are in Ukraine and most of them are pursuing medicine. They have taken shelter in metro stations and bunkers on their college campuses to save themselves from Russian aerial bombardments.

It is said most of them are running low on food and cash and keeping themselves informed on the war situation and rescue options through WhatsApp groups.

Videos of stranded students seeking immediate Indian intervention were shared widely on social media. Many said they were running out of food and scared for their lives. Parents of some of these students approached district collectors’ offices to request their evacuation.

‘I have been staying at the metro station since yesterday. I neither have money nor food. I don’t know how I am going to survive,’ said a medico from Tamilnadu.

Muthamizhan, a resident of Ginjee and a student at Lugansk State Medical University, said there were around 800 Indian students in Vinnytsia, 150 of them from Tamilnadu.

Vanavan, a resident of Kanchipuram who is pursuing MBBS in Kharkiv, is more worried about his parents back home. ‘They are worried about me round-the-clock. I hope to meet them soon,’ he said.

Meanwhile in a tweet, Chief Minister M K Stalin said, ‘In the light of the serious conflict between Russia and Ukraine, I’ve requested Hon’ble @DrSJaishankar to intervene immediately to evacuate thousands of students from Tamil Nadu who are stranded in Ukraine and to nominate a nodal officer for better coordination with Govt of TN.’

Stalin announced the state government will bear all the expenses related to the return of the students from Ukraine, an official statement said.