'Ukraine is my nation too'

Brijendra Rana has been honoured for his work supplying medicines to troops and civilians. He speaks to Arpan Rai

- Arpan Rai

When Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago this month, India was one of many countries that raced to evacuate thousands of its citizens out of harm's way. A huge operation followed, with planes, trains and buses pressed into service to rescue some 18,000 Indian nationals in the space of around three weeks.

Brijendra Rana, a 50-year-old Indian living in Ukraine, was among the few who chose to stay, despite his adopted home of Kharkiv being just 60km (37 miles) from the Russian border and among the first cities targeted by the initial wave of invading forces. His pharmaceutical firm Ananta Medicare has provided antibiotics to hospitals and medical institutions through the course of the war. He also started volunteering with the Red Cross in the months after Russia's invasion. When an official call from Kyiv came for Mr Rana, he assumed it to be a regular order from the government that would involve providing aid or medicine to civilians.

Late last week he drove down to the Ukrainian capital where, much to his surprise, he was told he would be meeting Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces, and handed the "Badge of Honour" - one of the country's most prestigious civilian awards. It consists of a shiny silver medal bearing the image of the Motherland Monument statue that is on top of Kyiv's National Museum.