‘No report of any hostage situation’: MEA on Indian students in Ukraine

The official spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, dismissed tentative rumours, stating that “Our embassy in Ukraine is in constant contact with Indian nationals in Ukraine. We note that in cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities, several students left Kharkiv yesterday. We have not received any information about any student being held hostage.”

The release further said, “We have requested the support of the Ukrainian authorities in arranging special trains to take students from Kharkiv and neighboring regions to the western part of the country. We are in Russia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and coordinating effectively with countries in the region, including Moldova.”

“A large number of Indian nationals have been evacuated from Ukraine in the past few days. We appreciate the help extended by the Ukrainian authorities to make this possible. We are also working to receive and fly Indian nationals to Ukraine’s western neighbors. Thank you for waiting. For taking them back home,” it added.

Meanwhile, Russia in India wrote in a tweet, “According to the latest information, these students are actually taken hostage by Ukrainian security forces, who use them as human shields and in every possible way they are taken to Russia.” stop leaving. The responsibility, in this case, lies entirely with the Kyiv authorities.”

“According to our information, Ukrainian authorities have forcibly placed in Kharkov a large group of Indian students who want to leave Ukrainian territory and go to Belgorod,” a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said during the briefing.

“In fact, they are being held as hostages and offered to leave the territory of Ukraine through the Ukrainian-Polish border. They offered to leave the area where active hostilities are taking place,” he said. .

He further said that the Russian Armed Forces are ready to take all necessary measures for the safe evacuation of Indian nationals and to send them home from Russian territory with their military transport aircraft or Indian aircraft, as the Indian side intends to do. was proposed.

However, Ukraine has reacted to Russia’s accusations and called on the Russian Federation to “immediately end its hostilities in Kharkiv and Sumy by making arrangements for the evacuation of the civilian population, including foreign students, in order to secure Ukrainian cities.” can”.

“There are students from India, Pakistan, China and other countries who cannot go because of the indiscriminate shelling and barbaric missile attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure by the Russian armed forces,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The statement said that the Ukrainian government stands ready to assist foreign students relocating from Kharkiv and Sumy.

“The Ukrainian government stands ready to help relocate foreign students from Kharkiv and Sumy should Russia commit to a ceasefire,” the statement said. The attempt is extremely dangerous.”

Ukraine demanded that Moscow be allowed to open a humanitarian corridor to other Ukrainian cities.

“We urgently call on the governments of India, Pakistan, China and other counties, whose students have become hostages of Russian armed aggression in Kharkiv and Sumy, to demand from Moscow that it allow humanitarian corridors to open to other Ukrainian cities. gives,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement.