Bhopal, Feb 25 (PTI) The kin of 122 students from Madhya Pradesh stranded amid war in Ukraine have so far contacted the chief minister's helpline here, an official said on Friday.

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The official said, on condition of anonymity, that most of these students are in Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, which is the second largest city in that country, and have been given refuge in metro stations and other safe spots.

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These students are unable to move towards the Hungary border, some 1,200 kilometres away, for a land rescue effort due to the relentless shelling by Russian forces, while making it to the Poland border was tough due to lack of buses on the route, he added.

"There may be 250 students from MP in Ukraine. The kin and guardians of 122 students have contacted the chief minister's helpline so far. We are coordinating, and the Indian Embassy there is making all out efforts to help these students," the official told PTI.

He added that Indian students mostly prefer to pursue education in Moscow in Russia, with just a handful in Ukraine, where courses are cheaper, he said.

The exact number of students from MP and India as a whole can be provided by the Immigration Bureau of Ukraine, the official added.

The parents of some these students said ATMs in that country had begun to go dry, while provisions were also in short supply due to bulk and panic buying.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)