Leave Kharkiv under all circumstances by 6 pm: Indian Embassy to citizens
Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Mar, 2022 05:45 PM
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) In a distress call, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine has directed all stranded citizens to leave the second most populous city, Kharkiv under all circumstances by 6 p.m. (Ukrainian time, IST 9.30 p.m.) on Wednesday.
The embassy stated: "Urgent advisory to all Indian nationals in Kharkiv. For their safety and security they must leave Kharkiv immediately. Proceed to Pesochin, Babaye and Bezlyudovka as soon as possible."
It reiterated, "Under all circumstances they must reach these settlements by 1800 hours (Ukrainian time) today."
Kharkiv, a largely Russian-speaking city near the Russian border, has a population of around 1.4 million. It has been found that Russian troops have landed in Kharkiv and are engaged in heavy fighting with Ukrainian forces.
Russia shelled Kharkiv damaging various installations.
Further, videos are circulating online of an apparent attack on the regional police and intelligence headquarters in Kharkiv.
"Practically there are no areas left in Kharkiv where an artillery shell has not yet hit," Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, said in a statement posted on Telegram.
However, Russia says it is only targeting Ukraine's military infrastructure, air defence and air forces with high-precision weapons.
It was in Kharkiv where an Indian student was killed on Tuesday morning in shelling. Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, a 21-year-old medical student from Karnataka, was standing in the queue for food in Kharkiv on Tuesday morning when he was killed.
Naveen was a final year medical student at the Kharkiv National Medical University. He was from Karnataka's Haveri and lived near a prominent government building that was blown up by Russian soldiers.
The war between two countries has entered into the sixth day after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for military operation.
There are an estimated 25,000 Indian students in Ukraine alone who are pursuing medicine, engineering, and science courses. More than 2,500 students from Tamil Nadu are estimated to be studying in Ukraine.
The Foreign Secretary stated that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken to his Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, and Slovakian counterparts for setting up a camp at border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals. He also stated that flight options are available through Dubai and Istanbul and that the Indian Embassy continues to be operational in Ukraine.
The Ministry of External Affairs in touch with all the neighbouring countries surrounding Ukraine to even evacuate Indian citizens. Many citizens who were to fly back to India were left at the airport after closure of Ukrainian airspace following Russia's Vladimir Putin announcement of a military operation in Ukraine.
Amidst the prevailing tension, the Indian students stranded in Ukraine are left with no choice but to queue up outside the Indian Embassy in Kiev seeking the authorities' help as they ran out of food and money. The Russian military actions in Ukraine have triggered panic among all sections, including students from India.
Clashes have also been taking place around the capital Kiev in the north and the Black Sea port cities of Odesa and Mariupol in the south, the report said. Air strikes from Russia have been carried out on Ukrainian military bases and airports, with fierce fighting reported around a key airport near Kiev.
The top of the Tower shone bright with a burnt orange top Tuesday, February 22, 2022 to celebrate student Jaskaran Singh’s victory in the “Jeopardy! National College Championship" shared the university's website.
