Kyiv [Ukraine], October 23 (ANI): After the Indian embassy in Kyiv issued an advisory asking Indian citizens currently in Ukraine to leave at the earliest, the mission shared information on five available options for border crossing for Indian nationals.
Seoul [South Korea], May 2 (ANI/Sputnik): The South Korean ambassador to Ukraine and a part of the diplomatic staff have returned to Kyiv to restart the operation from May 2, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said.
Kyiv [Ukraine], April 5 (ANI): As Russia's war in Ukraine entered its 41st day on Tuesday, air raid alerts on Tuesday went off in almost every region of Ukraine.
Washington [US], March 4 (ANI): Embracing her roots in the time of need, actor Mila Kunis has shared how her Ukrainian lineage magnified her desire to bring awareness to the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
New Delhi Feb 28 PTI Ukraine is extending all possible help in the evacuation of the Indians stranded in the country notwithstanding the very difficult ground situation but an assurance on their safety can only be given by Russian President Vladimir Putin Ukrainian envoy Igor Polikha said on MondayHe rejected reports of discrimination against Indians attempting to leave the country through various border crossings saying thousands of people are trying to flee the Russian invasion and there is a need for calm and discipline at the transit pointsThe envoy said he himself reached out to some of the Ukrainian border-guarding commanders requesting them to assist the Indians who are trying to exit the country through land bordersThe situation is very difficult and complex My resources are limited We are victims of aggression Still we are trying to help people including those from other countries Polikha said at a media briefingWe are interested to solve this issue but do not forget the root cause of the problem It is not Ukraine it is not Indian students it is not other foreigners You know the main cause of this tragedy -- Russian bombs and shelling he addedThe ambassador also claimed that the Russian forces are targeting schools ambulances and civilian areas and that the situation in Ukraine is very difficult and complexHe said the circumstances at the Ukraine-Poland border crossing are challenging as lakhs of people including diplomats foreigners and Ukrainian citizens are queuing up to exit UkraineIn the case of Indian nationals we are even trying to use our personal contacts to help them But you have to understand the ground realities We are in a war Polikha saidForeign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla met Polikha on Sunday and requested Ukraines assistance in the evacuation of the Indians stranded in the countryI had a long and productive meeting with the foreign secretary The number of Ukrainian refugees has exceeded four lakh It is approaching five lakh very quickly Polikha saidQuoting projections by some pessimists he said if the war is not stopped then there is a possibility that the number of refugees could go up to 70 lakhIn such a case it will be a humanitarian catastrophe he addedAsked whether he can assure the safety of the Indian students Polikha said only Russian President Vladimir Putin can give that assuranceI do not know what will happen there after three hours We are trying to be helpful to everyone he saidAccording to Indian officials last week there were around 16000 Indian nationals in UkraineShringla said on Sunday that over 2000 Indians were evacuated from the east European nation in the last few daysIndia on Friday managed to set up camp offices in Lviv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine to facilitate the transit of Indians to Hungary Romania and PolandIt also positioned teams of officials at the Zahony border post in Hungary Krakowiec as well as the Shehyni-Medyka land border points in Poland Vysne Nemecke in the Slovak Republic and the Suceava transit point in Romania to coordinate the exit of Indian nationals from UkraineIndia is using the land routes to evacuate its citizens as Ukraine has closed its airspace for civilian aircraft following the Russian attack PTI MPB RC
New Delhi Feb 28 PTI Telling sordid tales of intolerable living conditions stranded Indians in Ukraine said they are facing hardships in availing meals and medicines as priority is being given to localsTrapped inside a bunker in Kharkiv city of Ukraine Assoiun Hussain 25 who hails from Kerala told PTI over phone on Monday that he only had a loaf of bread in the last 48 hoursHe said the bunkers are freezing 24X7 and are overcrowded adding that they also lack basic amenities like water or bathrooms with doorsWe bought four to five bedsheets and arranged them together for makeshift beds We are sleeping near railway tracks and on platforms Our jackets are worn out because it is very cold here The conditions are quite bad here Hussain saidIndian students trapped in Ukraine have also alleged racial discrimination against them by the localsRecently videos showing Indians being attacked did the rounds of social media In one of the videos shot during night time a student wheeling his suitcase behind him is kicked by a guard in uniformIn another video students claimed that they were being thrown off the train parked at a railway station in Kyiv and beaten with sticksManogya Bora 19 who recently returned from the Poland border to Lviv alleged that Indians are being subjected to racist attacks and students were beaten upPeople here are telling us to go back to Ukraine The situation is much worse for boys I have seen boys being beaten up she saidTalking further about the pitiable conditions in the bunkers Hussain said I received a loaf of bread today I did not get food yesterday The Ukrainian authorities are providing food and medicine including insulin and food for babies However priority is given to Ukrainians not IndiansWe are only getting what is left after distributing to Ukrainians he saidThe student said getting food from outside is not a cakewalk with continuous shelling underway Moreover no food supplies are available in the market he addedThere is only one supermarket and there is nothing in there -- only juices and water We have self-respect we cannot beg them The Ukrainian authorities allowed us to go out to get fod because some locals complained that because of us they are running out of food fast he saidI tried going out today but ran back as there was continuous shelling Hussain addedKharkiv is among the Ukrainian cities where the situation is dire with continuous shelling Thousands have taken refuge in metro bunkers to protect themselvesRecently a nine-storey residential tower was hit killing an elderly woman while about 60 people survived after hiding in the basement21-year-old Shana Shaji of Kerala said there is continuous shelling It appears as if the building will fall apart she saidThousands of Indian students are stranded in Ukraine after the Russian Army launched a brutal offensive last weekWith the war now entering the fifth day the Indian government has been carrying out evacuations of its citizens from Romania and Hungary -- neighbouring countries of UkraineWhen asked about the evacuation process Hussain said the embassy has asked the students to reach the western border at their own riskIt is not possible for us to reach borders There is heavy shelling outside In trains and buses the priority is being given to Ukrainians he saidGujarat native Ronak Sherasiya an MBBS student in Ukraine was meant to take a morning flight out of Kyiv on Thursday on way to India but fate has so far brought him only out of the conflict-hit eastern European countryThe 18-year-old a first year student at the Bukovinian State Medical University BSMU in Chernivtsi a beautiful town in western Ukraine about 500 km from capital Kyiv told PTI over phone that he had finally crossed the Ukrainian border and was now in RomaniaI was part of a group of students who travelled in a bus provided by our university We alighted a little before the border and then walked We reached Ukraine-Romania border on February 25 at around 4 pm local time There were about 2000-3000 people mostly Indians at the border It was a massive crowd and only a couple of MEA officials so processing took time After waiting for hours we finally crossed the border and entered Romania at about 6 am local time on February 26 he saidWe are now lodged in a sports complex on the Romanian side but airport is still far away We have been provided food and WiFi connectivity has also been provided but only limited number of people can join at a time We are biding our time to fly out of Romania to India Sherasiya saidAsked about various videos circulating on social media about alleged misbehaviour by security forces at some border area he said Things are chaotic at the border areaUkrainian army personnel were asking people to move back but when the commotion grew some of the security personnel started firing in the air he claimedPTI VA KND SRY
New Delhi Feb 28 PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asserted that the entire government machinery was working round the clock to ensure all Indians in Ukraine are safe and secure as he deputed four Union ministers to countries bordering the war-hit nation as special envoys to oversee the rescue efforts and more evacuation flights were deployedIndia will also help people from neighbouring and developing countries who are stranded in the eastern European nation and the first consignment of relief supplies to Ukraine to deal with the humanitarian situation on its borders would be sent on TuesdayThe prime minister made the remarks at a high-level meeting his second of the day that was held to review the ongoing efforts under Operation Ganga to bring back the Indians stranded in Ukraine according to the Ministry of External Affairs MEA Spokesperson in the MEA Arindam Bagchi said around 8000 Indians left Ukraine since the first advisory was issued around a fortnight back and a total of 1396 Indians were brought back home in six flights after the evacuation mission was launched on SaturdayTwo of these Air India flights from Romanian capital Bucharest and Hungarian capital Budapest landed in Delhi on Monday with 489 Indian nationalsOther private carriers such as SpiceJet IndiGo and Air India Express have also sent their planes to the two cities for evacuation of Indians as the Ukraine airspace is closed for civilian aircraftMEA officials told a parliamentary panel they are planning 13 other flights in the next 2-3 days and subsequently nine flights a day according to sources As fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces raged on despite the two sides holding talks for the first time since the outbreak of hostilities around 14000 Indians including a large number of students were still stranded in Ukraine and have been narrating through the media and on phone their ordealWhile some are unable to move to western areas which are less affected others have reached borders but were unable to cross and were facing a shortage of food and waterThe Indian embassy in Ukraine advised all Indian students stranded in Kyiv to reach the railway station in the Ukrainian capital for their onward journey to the western parts of the war-torn country However an Indian student who managed to reach the Kyiv train station said Ukrainian guards were not allowing students to board trains and were also beating up peopleIts getting difficult for us to stay here Ansh Pandita told PTI as scores of Indian students including women sat huddled together at the teeming Vokzal railway station in Kyiv holding a large tricolour aloft so they could be recognised in the crowd and also so no one from the group gets lost Officials said the situation on the Polish border remained problematic as a large number of people had gathered there in order to cross the borderAt a media briefing the MEA spokesperson said the government has decided to send Union Minister Hardeep Puri Jyotiraditya Scindia Kiren Rijiju will and Gen retd V K Singh as the prime ministers special envoys to oversee the evacuation of IndiansHe said Puri will go to Hungary Scindia will oversee the evacuation process in Romania and Moldova Rijiju will travel to Slovakia and Gen retd V K Singh is leaving for PolandThe special envoys will be travelling to these countries to basically coordinate and oversee the evacuation process on the ground Bagchi said adding they may also go close the places where the evacuation is happening if the situation permitsBagchi said India managed to accelerate the evacuation process in the last 24 hours as a new border crossing has been opened through Moldova for taking the Indians to Romania and there was an improvement in the movement of people through the Polis transit pointHe said India is encouraging its citizens particularly students to move towards Western Ukraine and emphasised that they should not reach the border directlyAmid concerns over the safety of Indians in Ukraine the countrys envoy Igor Polikha said that his government is helping the stranded Indians and extending assistance in their evacuation notwithstanding the very difficult ground situationSpecifically asked about the safety of Indians he said that assurance can only be given by Russian President Vladimir Putin He also said that Ukraine was looking for humanitarian assistance from IndiaPolikha also rubbished the suggestion that Ukrainian authorities were discriminating against Indian citizens after India abstained from a UN Security Council resolution deploring the Russian military attack on the countryIn the briefing Bagchi said India is sending humanitarian assistance to Ukraine including medicinesBagchi said the situation on the ground in terms of evacuation continues to be complex and fluid but India has managed to accelerate the evacuation process in the last 24 hours You have seen media reports Some of them are concerning Nevertheless we have been able to accelerate our evacuation process clearly over the last 24 hours he saidThe MEA spokesperson also urged the Indian students not to panicOur estimate is that over 8000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine since we issued the initial advisories Its not since the conflict began but since we issued the initial advisories he emphasised With a large number of Indians stuck at the Polish border point along with several thousand other nationalities External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his counterpart from Poland Zbigniew Rau Discussed the Ukraine developments with RauZbigniew of PolandAppreciate Polands facilitation of the evacuation of Indian students from Ukraine His words of support in that regard are very welcome he tweetedBagchi said Indias focus has been on evacuating its nationals through the land border crossings noting that there has been some improvement in the movement of people into Poland through the situation in the Polish border is still difficultBagchi said flights are not a constraintWe will add more flights as needed We are continually augmenting the number of MEA teams in border crossing points We are also augmenting a number of officials in the nearby countries he saidIndia on Friday managed to set up camp offices in Lviv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine to facilitate the transit of Indians to Hungary Romania and PolandIndia also positioned teams of officials at Zahony border post in Hungary Krakowiec as well as Shehyni-Medyka land border points in Poland Vysne Nemecke in the Slovak Republic and Suceava transit point in Romania to coordinate the exit of Indian nationals from UkraineIndia is using the land routes to evacuate its citizens as Ukraine has closed its airspace for civilian aircraft following the Russian attack PTI MPB RT
New Delhi Feb 28 PTI India on Monday said it managed to accelerate efforts to evacuate its nationals from Ukraine though the ground situation remained complex and fluid and noted that around 8000 Indians left that country since the first advisory was issued earlier this month before the conflict beganExternal Affairs Ministery Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing that 1396 Indians were brought back home in six flights in the last few days as part of the evacuation missionThe Indian embassy in Kyiv had started issuing travel advisories requesting Indians to consider leaving that country after tensions between Ukraine and Russia began to increase Russia had launched the attack on the eastern European country four days backA large number of Indians left the country following the advisoriesThe MEA spokesperson also said India is sending humanitarian assistance to UkraineBagchi said thegovernment has decided to send four union ministers as the prime ministers envoys to Poland Romania Hungary Slovakia and Moldova to oversee the evacuation of Indian nationals through Ukrainian land border crossings with these countriesHe said Union Minister Hardeep Puri will go to Hungary Jyotiraditya Scindia will oversee the evacuation process in Romania and Moldova Kiren Rijiju will travel to Slovakia and Gen retd V K Singh is leaving for PolandThe special envoys will be travelling to these countries to basically coordinate and oversee the evacuation process on the ground Bagchi said adding they may also go close the places where the evacuation is happening if the situation permitsThat will depend on the specific circumstances I think you will see them operating there coordinating evacuation efforts and getting in touch with the local authorities as well as other partners which are helping in this process he saidBagchi said the situation on the ground in terms of evacuation continues to be complex and fluid but India has managed to accelerate the evacuation process in the last 24 hoursYou have seen media reports Some of them are concerning Nevertheless we have been able to accelerate our evacuation process clearly over the last 24 hours he saidThe MEA spokesperson also urged the Indian students not to panicI do not think the students should panic They should try to go to the western parts of Ukraine while contacting our control rooms and sharing their locations so that we can get them registered for their exit he saidOur estimate is that over 8000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine since we issued the initial advisories Its not since the conflict began but since we issued the initial advisories he emphasisedBagchi said Indias focus has been on evacuating its nationals through the land border crossings noting that there has been some improvement in the movement of people into Poland through the situation on the Polish border is still difficultHe said there has been progress in the evacuation of people along theborder in Romania and that exiting through the Hungarian transit point is also picking up momentumThe spokesperson said India has managed to open a new route through Moldova and an MEA team has already reached that country this morning to assist the evacuation of Indians from Moldova to RomaniaThis new route should help Indians in Southern UkraineWe are looking at how we can move them to Moldova and then to Romania he saidBagchi said India is encouraging its citizens to move to western Ukraine and that the MEAs understanding is that some students in the cities in eastern Ukraine are boarding trains to the western sideWe want to emphasise that people should not reach the border directly If they do they will face a long waiting time to cross as you have seen on the Polish border You have seen it on the Romanian border tooPlease do reach in the western part of the country but please seek shelter in nearby towns he saidBagchi said flights are not a constraintWe will add more flights as needed We are continually augmenting the number of MEA teams in border crossing points We are also augmenting a number of officials in the nearby countries he saidIndia on Friday managed to set up camp offices in Lviv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine to facilitate the transit of Indians to Hungary Romania and Poland India also positioned teams of officials at Zahony border post in Hungary Krakowiec as well as Shehyni-Medyka land border points in Poland Vysne Nemecke in the Slovak Republic and Suceava transit point in Romania to coordinate the exit of Indian nationals from UkraineIt is using the land routes to evacuate its citizens as Ukraine has closed its airspace for civilian aircraft following the Russian attack PTI MPB RT RT
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