Foreign Student, 17, Refuses To Leave Landlord's Wife And Children Alone In Ukraine

A 17-year-old foreign student in Ukraine has refused to leave her landlord's wife and three little children alone after the man joined the army.

The student's mother already made arrangements for her evacuation, but the teenage girl chose to remain in the country at a time when many people are desperately looking for ways to flee.

The Indian girl, identified as Neha, is a medical student at a college in Ukraine. When she couldn't get on-campus housing, Neha began renting a room in the family's home in Kyiv, News 18 reported.

Her landlord, a construction engineer, joined the army to help defend Ukraine from the Russian invasion. Neha felt she couldn't abandon the man's wife and their three kids afterward, so she decided to stay with them.

"Day before yesterday father joined army, mother with three children is in a bunker... My friend's daughter is also with them," Savita Jakhar, who is friends with Neha's mother, noted in a Facebook post, which the platform translated to English from Hindi, on Saturday.

Neha, whose father served in the Indian Army and passed away a couple of years ago, discussed her decision with her mother, a teacher in the Indian state of Haryana. "I may live or not, but I will not leave these children and their mother in such a situation," the teenager told her mother, according to The Tribune.

Jakhar also explained in her post that Neha had the opportunity to leave Ukraine but decided against it.

"Neha got attached to the children of the house-owner. She got advisories to leave the country as the war seemed imminent. Her mother made frantic efforts to arrange for her daughter's evacuation," Jakhar said, as per the outlet. "Finally, the girl got an opportunity to cross over to Romania, but she refused to abandon the affectionate family she has been staying with at this critical juncture."

Jakhar also confirmed to The Tribune that Neha's family and acquaintances have been trying to convince her to change her decision. However, the teenage student hasn't had a change of heart.

"We keep on hearing blasts outside, but we are fine so far," she recently told a family friend, according to the outlet.

"She knows that she may lose her life, but she is determined not to return in the given circumstances," Jakhar reportedly added. "I don't know what gives the girl so much strength to stand with the family…"