India has asked its citizens that are stuck in the Ukraine war to leave Kyiv urgently today. “Advisory to Indians in Kyiv– All Indian nationals, including students, are advised to leave Kyiv urgently today. Preferably by available trains or through any other means available (sic),” a statement that the Indian Embassy in Ukraine released. Satellite pictures have captured Russian tanks on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital. The city has been on the edge since Friday. Over the weekend, it saw fighting on the streets and attacks on residential buildings.
India is trying to speed up the evacuation process with thousands still stuck in the war-hit nation. About 8,000 people have so far been brought back to the nation as Russia began a “full-scale” invasion of Ukraine last week.
“Russian forces have improved their use of artillery north of Kyiv & in the vicinities of Kharkiv as well as Chernihiv. The use of heavy artillery in heavily populated urban areas greatly grows the risk of civilian casualties,” the UK’s Ministry of Defence said in a tweet, adding that “the Russian advance on Kyiv has made little progress so far”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called three high-level meetings since Sunday to negotiate about the ongoing Russian tensions with its neighbour Ukraine crisis. Earlier on Tuesday, he met President Ram Nath Kovind to discuss the issue. Sources have said that he has also called for the Indian Air Force to join the evacuation efforts under Operation Ganga. Last week, he spoke to Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the safety concerns.
During the Ukraine war, about half a million people have fled the country. Kyiv, meanwhile, is trying to put up a strong resistance against Moscow.