A week into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry has begun the process of repatriating a female Bangladeshi medical student who has been studying in Ukraine and is currently at the Bangladesh embassy in Vienna.
Deputy Chief of the Bangladesh Mission in Austria Rahat Bin Zaman on Wednesday confirmed that the student would depart from Budapest Ferihegy International Airport on an Emirates flight at 3:10pm on Friday. Following transit in Dubai, she is expected to arrive in Dhaka at 8am on Saturday.
Student Rafika Faruk Choity was a third-year medical student at Uzhhorod National University in Oblast, Ukraine, near the Hungary-Slovakia border. She was among the 15 Bangladeshi students studying in Ukraine who took refuge at the dormitory of Semmelweis University in Hungary once the Russian invasion began.
As of on Wednesday, 566 Bangladeshi nationals had safely crossed the Ukraine border to neighbouring countries. Among them, 532 were in Poland, 28 in Hungary, and three each in Slovakia and Romania.
Sources in Poland on condition of anonymity told Dhaka Tribune many of the Bangladeshis who had arrived there from Ukraine were attempting to illegally make their way to other European countries.
Officials at the Bangladesh mission in Austria said more Bangladeshis were waiting at the border to leave Ukraine, but many were undecided on whether to go to Poland or Romania.
Migrant workers, students stranded in Ukraine seek help
Many Bangladeshi migrant workers and students stranded in Ukraine's major cities and on the Russian border have called on the Bangladeshi government to evacuate them.
One of the students told Dhaka Tribune: "We hope the Bangladesh government will do something for students like us who are stuck in Kiev, Sami and Kharkiv. They need to either arrange flights or arrange transportation through embassies to our nearest border, because we can't get out."
Several students said they were terrified by the sudden bombings and shootings. In addition to the curfew in the Ukrainian states, damage to roads and bridges has made travel extremely difficult.
“Those who were able to leave at the beginning could safely reach the border, but those who are trying to leave now are getting trapped in various places, and are being searched by both Russian and Ukrainian forces,” said a migrant worker.
Sultana Laila Hossain, ambassador of Bangladesh to Poland, said: "We are on high alert and our team is working 24 hours a day as per government directives so that we can easily evacuate Bangladeshi citizens from Ukraine."
Once the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Bangladeshi embassies in Europe advised migrant workers and students to leave Ukraine by any means. They would have to reach the border on their own initiative.
If any Bangladeshis become trapped or arrested, then the nearest embassy will send its officials or a team from the Red Cross to rescue them.
Bangladeshis who managed to reach the border praised the government's efforts, saying embassy officials had provided them with directions, medical treatment, food and water.
Deputy Chief of Mission Rahat Bin Zaman said: “All kinds of support are being provided according to the needs of the migrant workers and students.”