Meet the Indian student who flew to UAE hours before Kyiv shut airspace

Meet the Indian student who flew to UAE hours before Kyiv shut airspace

Ticket fares reached 90,000 Indian rupees by the time the 20-year-old was able to board a plane

Published: Fri 25 Feb 2022, 6:35 PM Last updated: Fri 25 Feb 2022, 7:09 PM

Muhamed Adil Javad is among the lucky students to have flow out of Kyiv airport to the UAE hours before Ukraine airspace was closed following the Russian invasion.

Javad never expected the dramatic turn of events of the past two days. Today, missile strikes rocked the border region of Zaporizhzhia, the south-eastern city of Ukraine, where he has been studying medicine for the past two years.

"I am a second-year MBBS student at Zaporizhzhia State Medical University. Ukraine-Russia tensions have been there for years, but none believed it would escalate to a war. The current situation is unpredictable. I was at the Kyiv airport for nearly two days and flew out some five hours before it was attacked. Now there are battle tanks on the streets," said Javad from his home in Sharjah.

Javad is concerned about his friends who are stuck in Zaporizhzhia. Some who escaped the blast at the airport to take refuge in a university's hostel.

"They are ready with travel documents. Most buildings there have bunkers. They would be moved