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the journey was bound to be risky. How does one cross a thousand kilometres in a country at war?

With an aim to head towards Lviv – a border city -- they somehow made it to the railway station.

“As we queued outside to enter the station, the shelling began again and everybody made a mad dash towards the underground bunker.”

With blasts just metres away, the crowds turned into a stampede. “I honestly thought we would get stomped to death,” she said.

At least six Bangladeshis waited together on the rail platform but only four, including Fabiha, managed to board the train.

The others were first-year medical student Samiha, and second-year medical students Shifa and Yassir. The rest were forced to stay back at the station, unable to leave Kharkiv.

“The train could not hold the amount of people looking for a way out. But the authorities tried to ensure that people of all nationalities were able to board.”

The 19-hour-long train journey was another endless nightmare.

“All the lights were switched off and the rail authorities told us not to have our GPS location or wifi on. Around us, there was a rain of missiles. Russian fighter jets are capable of detecting congregations of people and targeting their missiles accordingly. If we had our signals turned on, they would be able to locate the train,” she explained.

Meanwhile, the authorities repeatedly urged all passengers to keep their window shut.

During a pit stop, everyone notices how the capital of Ukraine – Kyiv – had been ground to dust from attacks earlier in the day.

“The train usually stops at this city for an hour. But this time, it was only for around 15 minutes. But even those few minutes seemed never-ending,” said Fabiha.

With fear at their throats, the four Bangladeshis counted seconds till they could leave the frightful city of Kyiv.

The shelling started to thin out the further they moved from Kyiv. After they landed in the city of Lviv, the next part of the journey was on foot.

The four friends walked for six hours in the freezing cold to reach the Poland border. Ukrainian nationals living on the road helped the tired travellers with food and water.

“When we reached the border, we realised to our dismay that there were no Bangladeshi embassy officials,” said Fabiha. Unable to contact any official, they took shelter in a school.

“Food comprised of a small amount of rice and vegetables, while we each got a thin blanket to beat the cold. Steaming hot tea and biscuits flowed aplenty.”

They spent two nights at this shelter before crossing the border on February 28.

Once inside Poland, Egyptian embassy officials allowed the Bangladeshis to board their Warsaw-bound bus.

The four friends were, at last, safe. But they had their thoughts and worries with those they had to leave behind.