Russia-Ukraine conflict: A bullet to the chest in Kyiv, then ‘apathy’

Harjot Singh, 31, said he had received little support from the Indian embassy

A view of the central square following the shelling of the City Hall building in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

File photo

TT Bureau, PTI   |   New Delhi   |   05.03.22 : Harjot Singh, 31, was in a cab with his friends on February 27, trying to flee war-ravaged Kyiv, when a hail of bullets hit him. One of the bullets lacerated his chest. Harjot woke up three days later in a hospital, alive to tell his tale.

“A bullet entered from my shoulder. They took out a bullet from my chest... my leg was fractured. There was a bullet in one knee,” Harjot, enrolled in a language course at International European University in Kyiv, told NDTV on Friday.

In an interview with PTI, Harjot, who hails from Delhi, recalled: “We were in a cab to Lviv. We were stopped at a barricade and suddenly it was raining bullets. I thought this was the end. I am alive by God’s grace.”

He recalled that “many people” had fired at the car.

Harjot had boarded a cab for the western Ukrainian city with two friends. “I don’t know what happened to them. If they made it or not, I have no clue,” he said from his hospital bed, adding that they had taken the cab after they were not allowed to board a train at Kyiv railway station.

Harjot told NDTV that he had received little support from the Indian embassy.

“I contacted the embassy people and asked if they can provide the facility to take me to Lviv. They kept asking me questions. I had to repeat my story several times. I can’t walk. I told them I can come out of the hospital, but they have to give me the facilities, they should take me to Lviv. But all I get is fake comments,” he told the news channel.

“Many more Harjots are trapped in Kyiv,” he said.  “Many have shut themselves in their homes, they don’t know what is happening. I have been continuously trying to speak to the embassy. But our embassy has already left for Lviv, even before us. The embassy is supposed to stay and help students,” Harjot told NDTV.

Back home in Delhi’s Chattarpur, his family has heaved a sigh of relief. They said they had received no news from him for days and images of the war only added to their anxiety.

“When he regained consciousness three days later, he was in a hospital with bullet injuries and a fractured leg. All his documents, including his passport, are missing. He has no idea what happened to his friends,” Harjot’s brother Prabhjot Singh said.

“The last time we had spoken on February 26, he had said he was fine and would be back. Thereafter there was no communication. We were so worried. These past few days have been tough. We contacted every official but there was no help,” Prabhjot said.

Harjot’s father Keshar Singh said every time he saw bodies on TV, his heart sank.

“There was no contact with him. I used to see bodies on TV and think my son was among them. My heart sank. We were so horrified and scared. But miraculously when he called on the fourth day, it was the same happiness I felt at the time of his birth. I request the Indian government to evacuate my son and thousands of other students stuck in Ukraine, Keshar, 67, said.