‘Not Without My Dog’: Stranded Indian Student Refuses To Leave Ukraine Without Pet

New Delhi: An engineering Indian student has refused to leave Ukraine unless his pet, Malibu, is also allowed to do so.

Rishabh Kaushik, a student of Radio Electronics at Kharkiv National University in east Ukraine has not left Ukraine as he wanted to take his pet dog with him, according to a report in NDTV. He got the rescue puppy in February 2021 in Kharkiv.

Kaushik said that he is trying to get all the paperwork and clearances done to take his dog with him but he has been stonewalled by officials who sought more documents from him. “But I just could not get the approvals. I decided then that if my dog can’t leave, I won’t either. I know that there is risk in staying on but I can’t just abandon him. Who will take care of him if I go?” he was quoted as saying.

“They are asking for my air ticket. How can I have an air ticket when the Ukrainian airspace is closed?” he added.

In a video on social media, Kaushik also said that he reached out to the government’s Animal Quarantine and Certification Service (AQCS) in Delhi and also the Indian embassy in Ukraine but there was no positive outcome.

According to Kaushik, he called someone at Delhi’s IGI airport regarding the issue but the person on the other end “hurled abuses at him”.

Rishabh Kaushik is currently hiding in a bunker in the capital Kyiv. “I would have been in India right now had the Indian government given me the required NOC (no objection certificate) as per the laws,” he was quoted as saying.

“I am stuck here since my flight was on February 27,” he added.