Washington [US], April 29 (ANI/Sputnik): The US House of Representatives passed legislation loosening requirements for engaging in lend-lease deals for defense equipment with Ukraine and other Eastern European countries, paving the way for more US arms to flow into the region amid Russia's special military operation.

Brussels [Belgium], April 11 (ANI/Sputnik): European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that the bloc will support Ukraine's parallel efforts to rebuild and seek EU membership once the conflict is over.

New Delhi Mar 19 PTI Japan on Saturday announced an investment target of five trillion yen Rs 320000 crore in India in the next five years following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida The two sides inked six agreements providing for the expansion of bilateral cooperation in a range of areas besides firming a separate clean energy partnership At a joint media briefing Modi said deepening India-Japan ties will not only benefit the two countries but will also help in encouraging peace prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region Kishida said the situation in Ukraine following the Russian invasion figured in the talks and described Moscows actions against the eastern European country as a serious matter that has shaken the basis of international norms Unilateral attempts to change the status quo using force should not be allowed he said Modi said India and Japan understand the importance of a secure trusted predictable and stable energy supply and that both sides are determined to expand overall cooperation PTI MPB SMN SMN

Kyiv [Ukraine], March 16 (ANI): Almost one child per second in Ukraine is becoming a refugee of the war, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, as the total number of people who have now fled the eastern European country since the Russian invasion began, passed three million.

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], March 4 (ANI): With stranded medical students returning to India under Operation Ganga amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis, Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singhdeo on Friday wrote to Union Heath Minister Mansukh Mandaviya expressing concerns about their "further education", and said that their future of all those students has been under question mark due to the "dire situation" in the Eastern European country.

Chennai Feb 27 PTI Indian students had to walk for about 5-8 kilometers to reach the Romanian border from battle scarred Ukraine a Tamil Nadu student who arrived from the eastern European nation said here on SundayNotably the Indian authorities facilitated quick evacuation to Romania and this helped avoid the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine students said here on arrivalA student of an institution in western Ukraine Selvapriya said though the situation was relatively less tense in the western region the Indian embassy evacuated students quickly to Romania to avoid peril in case the western side was also to witness escalationSince we were evacuated quickly we escaped from the impact of war but a large number of students are stuck on the eastern side of Ukraine she told reporters here at the airportShe and other returnees said such stranded Indian students should be brought home safely and quicklyBelonging to Pudukottai District of Tamil Nadu Selvapriya said several students from the western region have crossed the Romanian border and were on their way back home via Mumbai and DelhiOn the experience of Indian students in reaching the Romanian border from Ukraine she said there was heavy traffic congestion on the highway close to the border in the wake of war and they had to walk for about 5-8 kilometers to get out of Ukraine and reach RomaniaAnother student said he and others faced hassles only till reaching the Romanian border and after that the journey back home was easy While in Ukraine they had to face difficulty in accessing even food he said We were however quickly evacuated from the war zone he addedThe students thanked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin for facilitating their returnMinister for Non-Resident Tamils Welfare Gingee K S Masthan received the first five Tamil Nadu student returnees from UkraineMasthan accorded them a warm welcome at the airport More Tamil Nadu students are on their way back home he saidAbout 5000 students hailing from Tamil Nadu are in Ukraine for studies and all efforts were being made to bring them all back home he said Also 12 students belonging to neighbouring Kerala arrived here PTI VGN ROH ROH

New Delhi Feb 26 PTI Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said he has received many appeals for help from people from the northeast who are stuck in Ukraine and asserted that the government is working round-the-clock to evacuate every Indian from the war-zone Taking to Twitter he also shared a short video of the first flight to Mumbai from Romania with 219 Indian nationals I have received many appeals for help from parents and students from north-eastern states who are in Ukraine the minister said Rijiju said teams of the Ministry of External Affairs MEA are working round-the-clock for safe evacuation of every Indian from the eastern European country The government is bringing back Indians from Ukraine by operating special flights from bordering countries including Romania and Hungary Indians are being ferried to border areas of Ukraine before they are flown to India from the bordering country concerned since Ukranian airspace is closed for civilian flights PTI NAB AAR

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 25 (ANI): Amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday issued a helpline number for the citizens stranded in the Eastern European country and said that the government is working to bring back the people of the state.

New Delhi Feb 24 PTI The Centre on Thursday said Indian passengers from Ukraine can return via Qatar with aviation industry experts stating that civilian flights will restart from Ukraine only when its airspace opensCurrently 20000 Indians mostly students are stranded in UkraineSince the Ukrainian airspace is closed due to the Russian military offensive it is currently not clear how they are to travel from Ukraine to Qatar to take Qatar-India flights which are operating normallyThe authorities of the eastern European country issued a NOTAM notice to airmen Thursday morning stating that civilian flights within Ukraine are restricted due to potential hazard for civil aviationThe Indian Embassy in Qatar said on Twitter Government of India Ministry of Civil Aviation has allowed passengers traveling from Ukraine to travel by transit under India-Qatar bilateral air bubble arrangement This means that the passengers coming from Ukraine to Qatar will be able to board flights operating between Qatar and India PTI DSP TIR TIR

New Delhi Feb 24 PTI India on Thursday was firming up contingency plans including activating alternate air routes to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine as the spectre of a massive Russian offensive loomed over the eastern European country after President Vladimir Putin announced a military operationThe Ministry of External Affairs MEA held a series of high-level meetings to put into operation certain contingency plans in view of the rapidly changing situation in UkraineOfficial sources said given that the Ukrainian airspace was closed for civilian aircraft alternate evacuation routes are being activated to bring back the Indians especially the studentsThey said additional Russian speaking officials have been sent to the Indian embassy in Kyiv and are being deployed in countries neighbouring UkraineThe sources said the Indian embassy in Ukraine is functional and its advisories should be followed carefullyContingency plans are being put into operation said a source The sources said India is closely monitoring the rapidly changing situation in Ukraine and its immediate priority is to assist the IndiansWe are closely monitoring the rapidly changing situation Focus is on safety and security of Indians particularly students said a sourceIt said the control room set by the Ministry of External Affairs a few days back is being expanded and made operational on a 24x7 basisUkraine closed its airspace to civilian flights in view of high risk to safetyThe government is looking at ways to extend assistance to Indians there said a sourceAccording to estimates over 15000 Indians are currently staying in UkraineIt is learnt that a series of meetings are underway to assess the situation and ways to extend assistance to Indians in that countryThe situation in Ukraine deteriorated after President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine triggering serious concerns over the possibility of a full-scale military confrontation between the two countriesFollowing Putins announcement Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said an invasion could be the beginning of a big war in Europe PTI MPB DV DV