Switching between makeshift bunkers and flats, rationing supplies, alerting families every few hours – this is how students from Madhya Pradesh, who are stuck in Ukraine amid the war, are embarking on the toughest journey of their lives to reach the border areas, where the government of India has arranged for rescue flights.While flights are arranged, the authorities are unable to provide transportation till the borders.“For the past three days, we are hiding inside a bunker, hearing blasts every five minutes,” Shivani Singh, a native of Bhopal, said in a video message on Monday. Singh, an MBBS student, is in the bunker at underground metro station with her friend, Sachi, who hails from Udaypura in Raisen district. Other Indian students are also taking shelter in the bunker.Singh’s family panicked after the two girls shared their Whatsapp location, so that “they could at least find their bodies, if they died”.The youngsters are stuck in Kharkiv city, around 37km from the Russian border.ALSO READ | War in Ukraine: Centre to Bear Full Cost of Evacuating Indian Citizens, Students from Ukraine Their mothers met MP home minister Narottam Mishra on Monday to seek help in evacuating them.Another MP resident Arya Shrivastava, stranded in Dnipro city, said her friends and she are switching between their flat and building basement regularly. “We come to the flat to cook and charge our phones,” said Shrivastava. “Our families are asking us to return as soon as we can. We will have to undertake a 1,400-km journey towards the border, which might take 20-25 hours and is riddled with risks. We have kept our small bags with essentials ready. We are arranging for a bus.”Also stuck in Dnipro, Rashmi Suryavanshi of MP said in a video call that they were switching between flat and bunkers regularly amid air strikes. “We are seeing army tanks moving around. There are checks even if we step out to buy essentials,” Suryavanshi said, adding she tried boarding a train on Sunday, but could not due to heavy rush. “We will attempt the journey again on Monday.”Indore native Pranav Rai informed his family on Sunday night that he has reached Romania capital Bucharest along with others and will leave for India on Monday night. Rai said, “We left in a bus from Ternopil on Friday night, with an Indian flag atop the vehicle, so that we are not stopped or harmed. At the border, we had walk for 10 hours in freezing temperatures and enter Romania.”RETURNEES THANK PM MODIMeanwhile, those who returned from Ukraine thanked the government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Alirajpur’s Chelsi Rathore was among first to board the flight to Mumbai. Chelsi is among the 2,500 Indian MBBS students in Chernivtsi city at Bukovinian State Medical University. “We travelled in a bus with an Indian flag and reached the border,” said Chelsi.Sagar’s Vedansh Khare, who returned to New Delhi, said in a video message: “We left early, but those who started late are moving amid gunfights, air strikes and local armed groups threatening them. It is a nightmare.”Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Assembly Elections Live Updates here.