According to the statements by the PAUMS- Parents Association of Ukraine MBBS Students, the Medical aspirants returnee students from Ukraine will have a five-day hunger strike from Saturday because of their un-listened demands for admission to Indian medical colleges. The association proclaimed that around 5,000 students and parents from 26 states will participate in the hunger strike from Saturday, July 23 to July 27, 2022.

The statement by PAUMS read that Due to war in Ukraine for more than four months, MBBS education has been hindered a lot. As time passes by, students and parents are experiencing depression, anxiety, and other mental issues. It said that all they demand from the Government of India is to make room for all medical students who returned from Ukraine to Indian Medical Colleges. The PAUMS association has submitted a letter to Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and carried out multiple protests, but all the efforts by the students and the association were worthless. Last Month at Jantar Mantar, many Ukrainian returnees sat on a hunger strike requesting admissions to the country's medical colleges.

The statement added that students protested at Jantar Mantar twice or thrice at the NMC (National Medical Commission) office in Dwarka. They also submitted their demand-cum request letter to Prime Minister's Office, Education Ministry, President of India, NMC, and Health Ministry but in vain. So students have selected the option of sitting on a hunger strike. They stated that there are approximately 12,000 medical returnees from Ukraine and around 600 medical colleges in India. Each Indian medical college can easily accommodate at least 20 students as many are about to be doctors or are in their final years. Due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, thousand of Indian students studying in various medical colleges in Ukraine had to abandon their degrees and courses.

In April, the parents of the MBBS students who returned from Ukraine held a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding to favor the children in Indian Medical Colleges. In March, public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court, aiming for directions on the matter of admission and continuation of their studies in India. The petition also aimed directions from the Centre to offer a medical subject equivalency program for Ukrainian medical aspirants returnees.

IMA- The Indian Medical Association has also recommended to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and agreed that the students should be adjusted in Indian Medical Colleges as a one-time measure. IMA sent a letter to Prime Minister on March 4 that said such students should be permitted to go to Indian Medical Colleges for the remainder of their MBBS courses through an appropriate disbursed distribution, but should not be seen as an increase in annual intake capacity.