Ukrainian Anna Horodetska, 30, was awaiting her wedding with Delhi High Court lawyer Anubhav Bhasin in March. The couple decided to get married in a simple ceremony in South Delhi. After this Russia invaded Ukraine. Hiding in a bunker in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv shortly after the offensive began, Anna spoke empirically on the phone. Anubhav asked him to stay there. But he decided that he had to reach India somehow.
According to a report in the Indian Express, Anna said, “We have had three fights since the start of the attack. First when he asked me to leave Kyiv and I told him that Russia would not attack. Second when he begged me to board the train but I didn’t want to. And the third time we fought he asked me to stay in the bunker. I told him you stay there, I am coming to India. Let us tell you that Anna could come to India on March 17.
His arrival at the Delhi airport was not normal. They were welcomed with dhol and nagara. Anubhav got down on his knees and took out the engagement ring and asked- Will you marry me?
Anna said, “I was very tired from the journey. I didn’t expect what the experience did. I said yes. I fled the war to be with him. I met his mother, who welcomed me with flowers. It was all great.”
Let us tell you that the couple met for the first time in 2019 when Anna, working in a private company in Kyiv, came to India for a holiday. They exchanged numbers and became friends. After months of chatting on WhatsApp, she returned to Rajasthan for a road trip next year. At that time the lockdown was announced. Anubhavna said, “I helped him during the lockdown. We got closer. ,
The two met for the third time in February 2021 in Dubai. After this, at the end of the same year, both of them met for the fourth time in India. Anubhav’s mother asks Ana to marry her son. Anubhav said, “My mother proposed on my behalf. We decided to get married under the Special Marriage Act. Documents were being prepared for this when the war started.
Anna changed clothes and fled to Kyiv. She also took with her a coffee machine, which was given to her by her grandmother as a wedding gift. Anubhav said, “I told her are you crazy. There is a war situation and you are carrying a coffee machine. She said it was our wedding gift and she would not leave it.”
After arriving in Lviv with her mother, Anna left for the Polish border. After a two-week stay in Poland, he got a two-year Indian visa. Her mother has left for Norway and is going to Mexico to live with her husband.
Anna now waits for the war in Ukraine to end. She has a dog named Bao which she left with her grandmother in Kamyanka village of Cherkasy region. Both are planning to get married on April 27. Anna said, “I want to go back to Kyiv and get my dog back when the war is over. I’ll spend my life in India.”