New Delhi/Bengaluru: In the first Indian casualty in the war in Ukraine, a medical student from Karnataka was killed in an encounter in Kharkiv city, hours after the Indian embassy in Kyiv asked all stranded Indians to leave the capital city. , Means available”.
Also on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a high-level meeting, his fourth in the last 48 hours on Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, Modi asked the Indian Air Force (IAF) to evacuate Indians stranded in Ukraine, sources said, adding that the force is likely to deploy several C-17 aircraft carrying around 300 passengers. ability to go Operation Ganga.
As of now, only private Indian carriers are evacuating Indians from Romania and Hungary, the western countries having land borders with Ukraine, as Ukrainian airspace has been closed since February 24.
Confirming the death of the student, the Ministry of External Affairs said that it is in touch with the victim’s family.
Official sources said Modi also spoke to the father of Indian student Naveen Shekharappa Gyangoudar and expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family after the tragedy.
According to Naveen’s uncle, he was in a bunker in Kharkiv and had gone out in the morning to exchange money and eat something, when he was caught firing, in which he was killed instantly.
Naveen was in the fourth year of his course at Kharkiv Medical College.
The city of Kharkiv is witnessing escalating fighting between Ukrainian troops and Russian forces.
Official sources said the deteriorating situation in Kharkiv is a matter of grave concern and the safety of Indian citizens in that city is the top priority of the government.
Earlier, the Indian Embassy in Kyiv said, “All Indian nationals including students are advised to leave Kyiv immediately today. Preferably by available trains or by any other available means.”
The advice came amid escalating fighting between Russian forces and Ukrainian troops around Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Kiren Rijiju left for Hungary and Slovakia respectively after the government appointed four Union ministers as India’s special envoys to Ukraine’s neighboring countries to oversee the evacuation of Indians from the war-torn country. a day after. Decided to send it beyond its limits.
Other ministers who will oversee the evacuation process are VK Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia. Singh had left for Poland on Monday night.
The MEA said the foreign secretary is asking the ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine to reiterate their demand for an “immediate safe passage” for Indian nationals who are still in conflict zones in Kharkiv and other cities.
“Similar actions are also being taken by our ambassadors in Russia and Ukraine,” the foreign ministry said.
He said India has already taken up with the Russian and Ukrainian embassies the “pressed” need for safe passage for Indian nationals, including students, from Kharkiv and other cities in conflict zones.
“This demand has been repeatedly made by Russia and Ukraine since the start of the conflict on February 24,” a source said. This demand has been made by both their ambassadors in New Delhi as well as in their capitals. ,
“An Indian team has been deployed in the Russian city of Belgorod, close to the Ukrainian border. However, the conflict situation in Kharkiv and surrounding cities has been a deterrent, ”said the source.
“Therefore, it is imperative that Russia and Ukraine respond promptly to our need for a safe passage,” it said.
Sources said Indian officials have been successful in evacuating civilians from places where there is no threat to movement from the conflict. He said that India will continue to do everything possible to ensure the return of Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine.
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