New Delhi:
India has sought safe passage for its students and it is “necessary” for Russia and Ukraine to respond, foreign ministry sources told DailyExpertNews today, shortly after the government confirmed an Indian student was killed in Kharkiv during shelling of the city. Thousands of Indian students stranded in Ukraine have desperately sought help since Russia invaded the former Soviet republic last Thursday.
Many of the students have not been able to reach any of the border towns. Those who have reached the border say they are not allowed to cross by the authorities.
“The deteriorating situation in Kharkiv is a matter of great concern. The safety and security of Indian citizens in that city is a top priority for the government. We already had an urgent demand with the Russian and Ukrainian embassies for safe passage for Indian nationals.” , including students, from Kharkov and other cities in conflict zones,” a source in the foreign ministry told DailyExpertNews.
The demand, he said, has been made repeatedly against Russia and Ukraine since the start of this conflict on Feb. 24. “It has been delivered to their ambassadors in New Delhi as well as in their capitals,” the source said.
India, he said, has been preparing for evacuation for some time. An Indian team is positioned in the Russian city of Belgorod, close to the Ukrainian border.
“However, the conflict situation in and around Kharkov and nearby towns has been an obstacle. Therefore, it is imperative that Russia and Ukraine respond urgently to our need for safe passage,” he added.
This morning, Naveen Shekharappa, a senior medical student from Haveri, Karnataka, died when Russian soldiers blew up a government building.
The Foreign Ministry had confirmed the death by tweeting: “It is with deep sadness that we confirm that an Indian student lost his life this morning in shelling in Kharkiv. The ministry is in contact with his family. We extend our deepest condolences to the family.” .
Yesterday Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of rallies to assess the evacuation, as videos of stranded students flooded social media and the opposition sharply criticized the issue.
After the meeting, four high-ranking ministers were sent to countries on the border with Ukraine to coordinate evacuation efforts.
Jyotiraditya Scindia was put in charge of Romania and Moldova, Kiren Rijiju would go to Slovakia, Hardeep Puri to Hungary and VK Singh to Poland.
A foreign ministry official said that in places where the conflict has not endangered the movement, “we have been able to evacuate our citizens … More than 9,000 Indian nationals have been taken out, while a significant number are now in safer areas”.
