- NET Web Desk
Amid the major humanitarian crisis and fears of nuclear catastrophe, a considerable number of Indian nationals, largely students have been stranded in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, including two nuns from the ‘Missionaries of Charity’.
Sisters – Rosela Nuthangi and Ann Frida, hail from Mizoram, a Christian-dominated state. They have expressed their “decision to stay on in Ukraine, risking their lives to serve people fleeing the war and the injured,” said a note from regional bishop’s council.
According to church authorities in Mizoram, Frida was serving at Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. Her elder brother, Dengdailova, an administrator of St. Mary’s Parish Church in Mizoram’s capital, Aizawl, said Frida joined the community formed by St. Teresa of Kolkata in 1998 and was transported to Ukraine in 2015.
As per the Public Relation Officer (PRO) of the North East Regional Bishops’ Council, “the sisters have informed their relatives of their safety in spite of the challenging times.”
If the Union of Catholic Asian (UCA) News report is taken into context, Sister Nuthangi is the second woman to become an MC nun from the Mizo community. She made her first religious profession in 1984 and was sent to the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) as a missionary.
She worked in Moscow’s St. Petersburg for 10 years and mastered Russian. Meanwhile, she have also worked in Latvia, Astonovia and in 2017 moved to Ukraine.
Its worthy to note that following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the Indian government launched a mission – ‘Operation Ganga’ to bring back stranded Indian nationals, including students, from the war-torn country.