New Delhi

Despite the Ministry of External Affairs advising Indians in Ukraine to leave the country, many students are unwilling to return due to the high prices of airline tickets.

Ticket prices have risen from Rs 50,000 to over Rs 70,000 and the students say it is this financial hurdle that is forcing them to stay put despite the advisory by the Indian government. On normal days, the flight tickets would cost Rs 21,000-Rs 26,000. But now, due to the Russia-Ukraine tensions, the rates have soared.

"Travel agents are exploiting the situation to mint money. We don't have so much money. The news of this Russian-Ukraine conflict actually gave them an opportunity to push flight ticket booking charges citing the troubled situation over here. What can we do? We cannot afford this," said a medical student at Ukrainian capital Kyiv to the media.

"The Indian embassy issued an advisory, telling us to leave the country (Ukraine) temporarily, but how? That's the question and we have and they haven’t answered it,” said another medical student.

A small but vibrant Indian community lives in Ukraine, comprising mostly business professionals and students. There are about 18,000 Indian students studying in Ukraine, mainly medicine. Indian business professionals work predominantly in the fields of pharmaceuticals, IT, engineering, medicine, education, etc.

A delegation of parents of students from Gujarat approached Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and asked for help to make a safe passage for their children to return home from Ukraine.

The Ministry of External Affairs has activated helpline numbers and emails, so that Indian nationals in Ukraine can contact the embassy when required.

Tension has remained high for weeks fuelled by the possibility of was following Russian military buildup at the borders. The US has warned that Russia can invade Ukraine at any time, though in the last two days, there has been a de-escalation of the situation along the border.