‘Never Imagined This,’ Says Chess Player From Kyiv Apartment; Parents In Odisha Tense

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Kyiv: Former national rapid chess champion Anwesh Upadhyaya is among the thousands of Indians stuck in Ukraine, where he has been staying since 2012.

The 30-year-old, undergoing apprenticeship in gastroenterology at a Kyiv hospital, was planning to return to India in March.

“It is a full-scale military invasion. Never imagined this,” the 2017 national rapid chess champion told PTI from Kyiv. He took part in an event two months ago in Vinnytsia and finished on top.

Upadhyaya was in Ukraine in 2013 when protests broke out against Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Moscow former Ukraine President.

“I was present during the Maidan Revolution which was bad but not this scary,” he told PTI.

His parents, who are based in Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar, are worried since Russia attacked Ukraine and have been calling him constantly. At present, Upadhyaya is all alone in his apartment in Kyiv, awaiting instructions from the Indian Embassy.