Indian chess player Anwesh Upadhyaya has crossed over to Poland through the Dołhobyczów-Uhryniv border and is now headed to Warsaw.
The International Master who managed to flee war-torn Kyiv and arrived in Lviv on Tuesday morning, decided to take the less-congested Dołhobyczów-Uhryniv route on the advice of fellow chess players from the region, his father Netaji, told ESPN. "He has been planning the logistics of which border route to take since he arrived in Lviv. He learnt that Uhryniv is comparatively a lot less crowded and not among the most common routes and he managed to cross over without hassle in under half an hour. It's a route that the Indian embassy should explore for others who want to cross over. I reached out to them via social media to inform them about it," he said.
Sir, Consider using Uhryniv check point which is 2 to 2.5 hours of journey by taxi from Lviv. My son Dr. Anwesh Upadhyaya entered through that check point without any problem. It can be tried by all students stranded at Lviv. Thank you.
- Netaji Upadhyaya (@NetajiUpadhyaya) March 2, 2022
According to crowd-sourced website, HitchWiki, the "Dołhobyczów-Uhryniv border crossing connects Poland (at the village of Dołhobyczów) with Ukraine (at the village of Uhryniv, near Novovolynsk). Walking across this border is allowed according to website of the Polish Border Guard."
"This crossing is reportedly faster than other Poland-Ukraine crossings as it's fairly new and not on any major transit route. The detour might be worthwhile, as you can reportedly cross on foot and not too many people know about it and use it. The Ukrainian and Polish checks are carried out in the same building, which also contributes to shorter waiting times."
Indians leaving Ukraine have been largely taking the Shehyni-Medyka border crossing to reach Poland since the conflict began. The Indian embassy has now advised nationals who're now in Lviv to avoid the route since it has turned crammed and instead enter Poland via the Budomierz border or alternatively travel south and transit via Hungary or Romania.
Anwesh is likely to rest in Warsaw for a day before he figures out a way to fly back to India either via commercial airline or an evacuation flight being run by the Indian government.