Washington [US], May 10 (ANI/Sputnik): First Lady Jill Biden and other top US officials who have visited Ukraine in recent weeks could not be guaranteed complete safety on their trips, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier said on Tuesday.

The First Lady of the US, Jill Biden, made a surprise visit to Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska. Biden arrived in Ukraine at Uzhhorod. She made an appearance at a school that is housing and sheltering 163 displaced Ukrainians, including 47 children. Biden made the stop as part of a Mother’s Day weekend excursion to […]

Washington [US], May 8 (ANI): US State Secretary Antony Blinken on Sunday informed Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba about a recent visit to Kyiv by US diplomats ahead of the US embassy reopening, the US State Department said on Sunday.

Kyiv [Ukraine], May 8 (ANI): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made an unannounced visit to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.

New Delhi [India], February 28 (ANI): India on Monday opened a new route in the Western part of Ukraine through Moldova to evacuate its citizens as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to evolve rapidly.

New Delhi Feb 27 PTI India conveyed its deep concerns to Ukraine and Russia on Sunday over the safety of its nationals in various Ukrainian cities and explored new options of evacuating them from the conflict zones using alternative land routesForeign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India has also approached the International Committee of Red Cross ICRC in Geneva and requested it to be cognizant of the security interests of the Indian citizens and escort them out wherever possible when it starts its operation in UkraineAt a media briefing Shringla said India has evacuated around 2000 of its citizens from Ukraine and 1000 of them have been brought back home on chartered flights from Hungary and RomaniaShringla said he called on the envoys of Russia and Ukraine separately and conveyed to them Indias deep concerns on the safety and security of the Indian nationals stuck in UkraineThe Ministry of External Affairs under the direct supervision of the external affairs minister and the overall guidance of the prime minister is doing everything possible to make sure the safety security and interests of our citizens in Ukraine are given the highest priority he saidIn a related development External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Moldovian counterpart Nicu Popescu and sought support for facilitating the entry of Indians on the Ukraine-Moldova borderIn a tweet Jaishankar said a team of officials from the MEA will reach there on MondaySeparately Polish envoy to India Adam Burakowski said his government will allow entry into Poland without the requirement of visa to the Indians who escaped the Russian aggression in UkraineOn his meetings with the ambassadors of Ukraine and Russia Shringla said he conveyed to them Indias deep concerns about the safety and security of the Indian citizens particularly studentsWe have shared the locations where the Indian students and citizens are concentrated for ensuring their protection Both the ambassadors did take note of our concerns and assured us that they are very cognizant of the safety and security of Indian citizens he saidMy conversation with both the Ukrainian as well as the Russian ambassador was reassuring and I think I got every sense that we will get their fullest support when it comes to the interest and well-being of our citizens in Ukraine the foreign secretary saidHe said India has also contacted the ICRC in Geneva and that it is commencing its operation in UkraineWe have told them to please make sure that as and when they start their operation they should be cognizant of the needs of our citizens and wherever possible escort them out Shringla said adding that India is going to share with the ICRC the locations of the main areas where Indians are concentratedHe said though the border crossings to Hungary and Romania are functioning the exit point to Poland has been clogged with lakhs of Ukrainians and foreign nationals and that many Indian citizens are also stuck thereMany of our people have been there for a long time and I think they are in a very very difficult situation We fully empathise and work round the clock to see what option we can provide them the foreign secretary saidHe said the main concern for India is ensuring the safety of its nationals stuck in the areas witnessing intense fighting including in the capital Kyiv which has around 2000 IndiansShringla said some Indians are also stuck in the eastern cities of Kharkiv Sumy and Odesa adding that efforts are on to ensure their security and evacuationWe are aware of a number of Indian citizens particularly students who continue to be in cities in the east and south-east of Ukraine he addedUnfortunately these areas continue to be live conflict areas and it is generally deemed unsafe for people to move around freely We will try to find suitable evacuation modalities for them once feasible Shringla saidHe said Indians in these areas have been advised not to move around and to seek shelter in bunkers and other facilitiesHe said the option of evacuating people around Uzhhorod near the border with Hungary and Slovakia is being explored using a rail route to BudapestShringla said when Jaishankar spoke to the Moldovian foreign minister he was very reassuringI think we should be able to use that route to facilitate the evacuation of our citizens from that area of southwestern Ukraine he said adding that MEA teams will be in place in Moldova on Monday morningShringla said a team from the Indian embassy in Moscow has been sentWe will do everything possible to get our people out Our teams are working flat out to get that objective achieved he addedShringla said the Indian embassy in Ukraine has suggested that those located in the eastern areas including Kyiv should start moving westwards to avoid the areas of increasing conflict and should come near the border pointsIndia 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 Indians from Ukraine PTI MPB RC

Raipur Feb 27 PTI Paras Sahu 24 among the first batch of six students from Chhattisgarh who arrived in capital Raipur after being flown into the country from war-torn Ukraine late Sunday night said the day had brought immense happiness to him and his family and this was a journey that would remain etched in his memory for all time An official said Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel met these six students all pursuing medicine in Ukraine at Chhattisgarh Sadan in Delhi after their flight landed They landed in Raipur at around 8pm after taking a flight from Delhi he added Talking to reporters at Swami Vivekanand Airport Raipur Sahu who hails from Mahasamund district said We were lucky we were in Uzhhorod a city in Ukraine where the situation was not so serious when compared to other places We were however desperate to get back to our home and now we are happy Sahu a first year medical student said his university in Uzhhorod provided a bus and helped students to cross the border for evacuation Sahu and two more students are from Mahasamund while the remaining three are from Raipur Durg and Korea districts The parents of these students were teary eyed with joy most of them anxious as news channels were beaming the devastation being caused in Ukraine continuously through the day As per officials over 100 people including around 80 students from Chhattisgarh are stranded in Ukraine currently PTI TKP BNM BNM BNM

Budapest [Hungary], February 26 (ANI): A batch of Indian students entered Hungary from the Ukrainian side at Zahony crossing, travelling onward to Budapest for return to India by Air India flight on Saturday.

New Delhi Feb 26 PTI Air Indias first evacuation flight departed from Romanian capital Bucharest on Saturday afternoon for Mumbai with 219 Indian nationals who were stranded in Ukraine due to the ongoing Russian military offensive officials said The airlines two more evacuation flights -- one for Bucharest and one for Hungarian capital Budapest -- departed from Delhi on Saturday Indian nationals who reached the Ukraine-Romania border and Ukraine-Hungary border by road have been taken to Bucharest and Budapest respectively by Indian government officials so that they can be evacuated in these Air India flights they said The first evacuation flight AI1944 departed from Bucharest at 155 PM Indian Standard Time with 219 Indians and is expected to land at the Mumbai airport at around 9 PM on Saturday they said The second evacuation flight AI1942 and third evacuation flight AI1940 are expected to return from Bucharest and Budapest respectively to the Delhi airport on Sunday morning they mentioned External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Twitter that AI1944 flight with 219 Indian nationals has taken off from Romania Regarding evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine we are making progress Our teams are working on the ground round the clock I am personally monitoring he added The Ukrainian airspace has been closed for civil aircraft operations since February 24 morning and therefore the evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest and Budapest Around 16000 Indians mainly students were stranded in Ukraine Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had said on February 24 Prior to the closure of the Ukrainian airspace Air India had operated a flight to Ukraines capital Kyiv on February 22 that brought 240 people back to India It had planned to operate two more flights on February 24 and February 26 but could not as the Russian offensive began on February 24 and the Ukrainian airspace was consequently shut down Air India said on Twitter on Friday night that it deploy B787 aircraft from Delhi and Mumbai to Bucharest and Budapest on Saturday as special government chartered flights to fly back stranded Indian citizens The Indian embassy in Ukraine on Friday said it is working to establish evacuation routes from Romania and Hungary At present teams are getting in place at the following check points Chop-Zahony Hungarian border near Uzhhorod Porubne-Siret Romanian border near Chernivtsi it said Indian nationals especially students living closest to these border checkpoints are advised to depart in an organised manner in coordination with teams from the Ministry of External Affairs to actualise this option the embassy said Once the above-mentioned routes are operational the Indian nationals travelling on their own would be advised to proceed to the border checkpoints it noted The embassy advised Indian travellers to carry their passports cash preferably in US dollars other essential items and COVID-19 vaccination certificates to the border checkpoints Print out Indian flag and paste prominently on vehicles and buses while travelling it said The distance between Kyiv and the Romanian border checkpoint is approximately 600 km and it takes anywhere between eight-and-a-half hours to 11 hours to cover it by road Bucharest is located approximately 500 km from the Romanian border checkpoint and it takes anywhere between seven to nine hours by road The distance between Kyiv and the Hungarian border checkpoint is around 820 km and it takes 12-13 hours by road PTI DSP SMN SMN

New Delhi Feb 26 PTI Air Indias first evacuation flight departed from Romanian capital Bucharest on Saturday afternoon for Mumbai with 219 Indian nationals who were stranded in Ukraine due to the ongoing Russian military offensive officials said The airlines second evacuation flight departed from Delhi at 1140 AM and is expected to land in Bucharest at around 630 PM Indian Standard Time they noted Indian nationals who reached the Ukraine-Romania border by road have been taken to Bucharest by Indian government officials so that they can be evacuated in the Air India flights they said The first evacuation flight AI1944 departed from Bucharest at 155 PM Indian Standard Time and is expected to land at the Mumbai airport at around 9 PM they said The second evacuation flight AI1942 is expected to return to the Delhi airport on early Sunday morning with another 250 Indian nationals they mentioned External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Twitter that AI1944 with 219 Indian nationals has taken off from Romania Regarding evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine we are making progress Our teams are working on the ground round the clock I am personally monitoring he added Air India will operate more flights on Saturday to Bucharest and Hungarian capital Budapest to evacuate Indians stranded in Ukraine The Ukrainian airspace has been closed for civil aircraft operations since February 24 morning and therefore the evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest and Budapest Around 16000 Indians mainly students were stranded in Ukraine Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had said on February 24 Prior to the closure of the Ukrainian airspace Air India had operated a flight to Ukraines capital Kyiv on February 22 that brought 240 people back to India It had planned to operate two more flights on February 24 and February 26 but could not as the Russian offensive began on February 24 and the Ukrainian airspace was consequently shut down Air India said on Twitter on Friday night that it will be operating flights on B787 aircraft from Delhi and Mumbai to Bucharest and Budapest on Saturday as special government charter flights to fly back stranded Indian citizens The Indian embassy in Ukraine on Friday said it is working to establish evacuation routes from Romania and Hungary At present teams are getting in place at the following check points Chop-Zahony Hungarian border near Uzhhorod Porubne-Siret Romanian border near Chernivtsi it said Indian nationals especially students living closest to these border checkpoints are advised to depart in an organised manner in coordination with teams from the Ministry of External Affairs to actualise this option the embassy said Once the above-mentioned routes are operational the Indian nationals travelling on their own would be advised to proceed to the border checkpoints it noted The embassy advised Indian travellers to carry their passports cash preferably in US dollars other essential items and COVID-19 vaccination certificates to the border checkpoints Print out Indian flag and paste prominently on vehicles and buses while travelling it said The distance between Kyiv and the Romanian border checkpoint is approximately 600 km and it takes anywhere between eight-and-a-half hours to 11 hours to cover it by road Bucharest is located approximately 500 km from the Romanian border checkpoint and it takes anywhere between seven to nine hours by road The distance between Kyiv and the Hungarian border checkpoint is around 820 km and it takes 12-13 hours by road PTI DSP SMN SMN