“They were firing AK47 at us relentlessly,” says Indian Student Who Got Shot in Kyiv

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war situation, an Indian student, Harjot Singh, was shot at while attempting to flee the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. He spoke with Mojo Story from the Kyiv City Hospital where he is currently recovering. 

He tells Mojo that his two other friends and he were attempting to flee Kyiv in a car. They passed through three checkpoints before being stopped at the third and were told it is not safe to travel at this hour. They were asked to return in the morning.

As Harjot was returning to the city, a bullet pierced through his side in the back seat of the car, where he was sitting, “To protect ourselves, we knelt downstairs in the car and then exited because there were 5-6 people firing AK47s at us – three from the road and three from the top fired back to back.”

“When I saw the bullet flying in front of my eyes, I became disoriented and remembered my mother,” Harjot says to the team. Two bullets struck his leg near his knee as he lay backwards on his chest on the ground with some bullets even touching his body.

He regained consciousness in the intensive care unit and doctors informed him that the bullets had been removed. He was then transferred to the other room. 

He has been in the hospital since then because his family is not here, “the hospital is taking good care of me and has provided all necessary facilities,” he stated.

Harjot expressed that he desperately wants to get out of there. He stated that he attempted to contact the Indian embassy, “After 171 attempts, they picked up the phone and said, ‘We’ll see.’ To tell them this story, I had to speak 8 times. However, no assistance has been provided as of yet. There are many Harjot Siingh stuck here,” he said of other Indian students in Ukraine.

He said he came to Ukraine to do something for a better life and future, but he had no idea it would turn out this way. He has asked the Indian government to provide medical and financial assistance until he fully recovers and when he returns to India. Even after such a traumatic experience, he was upbeat and said, “Hum punjabi hai, himmat nahi haarte.”