War fear grips Bangladeshis in Ukraine
Crowds and traffic have been relatively thin on the streets of Kyiv as people fear a war may break out between Ukraine and Russia anytime.
While shops and offices remain open, people are only leaving their houses to buy essentials.
"They are afraid they may have to move anytime in case of a war… The situation is apparently normal. However, the tension is evident on everyone's faces," Khaled Mosharraf, a Bangladeshi expatriate, told this correspondent from Kyiv last evening.
With spring coming, businesses are supposed to be thriving. But the opposite is happening, he said.
After Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised independence of the parts of two states -- Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts – on February 21, Bangladeshi expatriates said they are very fearful of the situation.
The Russian troops and tanks, which have been waiting on the border, may enter Ukraine anytime, they said.
Russia, with around 15,000 soldiers stationed, surrounds all the borders of Ukraine, except the one between it and Poland.
In 2014, Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, which became an independent state after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Since Russia's annexation of Crimea, Ukraine has been increasingly seeking to become a Nato member – a move that Russia has been opposing. The US and most European nations have, however, been in support of Ukraine.
No diplomatic efforts by the US and European leaders over the last few weeks could prevent Putin from recognising the independence of Ukraine's breakaway regions.
He said the expansion of Nato to Ukraine and East European countries would mean security threats to Russia.
"Ukraine may declare a state of emergency anytime. That means the citizens aged between 18 and 55 will be obligated to take part in the war, and no citizen can leave Ukraine while it is in a state of emergency," said Palash Ahmed, another Bangladeshi expatriate in Kyiv.
Bangladeshi expatriates said there are some 2,500 of them, including 2,000 students, across Ukraine.
Mofizur Rahman, a law student in Kyiv, said he moved to Ukraine three months ago and is now worried about the situation there.
"I have contacts with different groups of students from different parts of Ukraine. We got to know that the Indian and Pakistani embassies in Poland are arranging relocation of their students in Ukraine."
The Bangladesh embassy in Poland, meanwhile, advised the Bangladeshis in Ukraine to leave, given the situation.
"The situation is becoming very worrying. Relocation to Poland for us would be the best option, but this can happen only if our embassy makes the arrangements," Mofizur said.
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