Even three days ago, Mahbub Alam, a Bangladeshi businessman in Ukraine, was in his homeland. He then flew to Kyiv full of worries. Mahbub is trying to grasp what might happen in the coming days as are many of his countrymen.
The crisis began climbing to a tipping point in December as the Western countries insisted that Russia was preparing for an invasion, reports bdnews24.com.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised two eastern regions of Ukraine, separatist-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk, as "republics" and sent forces there in the name of "keeping the peace"
The Western nations saw this as an escalation of war and placed multiple sanctions on Russia.
With military assault looming, many countries have begun removing their citizens from Ukraine. India sent a flight there to retrieve its people.
Mahbub said there is no readily available data on the number of Bangladeshis residing in Ukraine, which is home to around 42.5 million. But he believes it is somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500. Some went there for business and others to study.
He has been living in the eastern European country since 1982 after travelling there with a government scholarship. He is now a Ukrainian citizen.
“I went back to [Bangladesh] on an urgent call and returned to Kyiv on [February 21]. I was quite worried after watching the news in Bangladesh. On the face of it, things appear normal here. The public transports are still operational. But everyone is talking about it, is worried about it,” he said.
“Russian soldiers have always remained at the borders of Ukraine. More are now entering for the sake of peace missions. Let’s see how far Russia goes," Mahbub added.
Donetsk and Luhansk are two Ukrainian divisions adjacent to the Russian border. Moscow has incentivised the rebels to maintain conflict of these regions since annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Mahbub continued: “A portion of these regions is controlled by the rebels while Ukraine administration had control of the other. The question is whether they will attempt to seize control of the portion maintained by the Ukraine administration.”
“If they do, what steps will Ukraine take or will they retaliate? These will all matter. And Ukraine completely relies on the Western countries in this. Whether the Western nations will live up to their promise will factor in as well.”
Mahbub feels foreigners living in or near Donetsk or Luhansk are most at risk, though he could not confirm whether any Bangladeshi nationals lived in those areas.
“From what I know, not too many Bangladeshi people live in those two regions after the 2014 war. Some study at Luhansk State Medical University while some also lived in Donetsk.
“After that war, most Bengalis withdrew from there. They now live in other cities, including Kyiv and Odessa.”
Mahbub fears that Bangladeshi nationals living in Luhansk or Donetsk might not have contacted the Consulate of Bangladesh in Kyiv.
“There is no Bangladesh embassy here, only an honorary consulate. But we’ve been in regular contact with the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Poland, Sultana Layla. I’ve also been speaking to her personally.
“First Secretary Anirban Neogi is also very active. He communicates regularly as well.”
These expatriates in crisis have set up a social network to stay in touch with each other and send urgent news instantaneously.
The embassy in Warsaw is also working on the safety of their citizens in Kyiv, Mahbub said.
“The embassy there told us of a decision from the Polish authorities. If it comes to that, Poland will arrange for a passage to let Bangladeshi people living in Ukraine slip into its territory.”
Ambassador Sultana told BBC Bangla that the embassy was in contact with nearly 500 Bangladeshi nationals in Ukraine and had contacted the foreign ministry in Dhaka to discuss what can be done if those in crisis want to fly out of the country.
Poland has opened its border with Ukraine, she said and added: “The Polish government told us in a briefing that citizens of the Third World countries can remain in transit in Poland for 15 days if they wish to leave the country.”
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine declared independence and was second in landmass compared to Russia among the countries that split into existence from Soviet Union. Numerous Ukrainians have relatives in Russia.
Businessman Mahbub said, “Never in my worst nightmare did I imagine that such hostility between Ukraine and Russia could occur.”