NEW DELHI (AP) Indian student Abrar Sheikh has been waking up to the loud thuds of bombs that have pummeled Sumy, a city in northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border, for the last three days. When he hears the sounds of shelling, he rushes to a nearby bunker, praying the bombs dont find him.

On Tuesday, the blare of the bombs became louder. The food inside the bunker got scarcer and the cries of children inside grew.

At that moment, all I could think of was my family, Sheikh, 22, said by cellphone from the underground bunker on Wednesday, his voice thick with fear.

Sometimes the bunker goes all silent after we hear the sound of the bombs and I think, Is this it? he said. At night we pull the curtains in our rooms to keep them dark, hoping Russian troops dont know we are inside.

Thousands of Indians studying in Ukraine have suddenly found themselves in the midst of the war after Russia invaded the country last week, with many hunkered inside bunkers and fearful of what lies ahead.

Pressure on the Indian government to pull out its citizens has intensified in recent days, especially after one student died in shelling in Kharkiv on Tuesday. The government says about 17,000 out of an estimated 20,000 Indian citizens in Ukraine have left the country and that India is trying to evacuate the rest to nearby countries from where they can be flown back home. Many of those who remain stranded are in conflict areas such as Kharkiv and Sumy.