The State Department stated that officials are in regular contact with the students in Sumy.
New Delhi:
India’s foreign ministry said today it has “strongly pressed” the governments of Russia and Ukraine through multiple channels to demand an immediate ceasefire in order to create a safe corridor for students trapped in the midst of the ongoing war. raging in Ukraine. It also states that the ministry and Indian embassies are in regular contact with students, who have been posting desperate and emotional pleas to be evacuated from the conflict zone.
“Our students have been advised to take safety precautions, stay in shelters and avoid unnecessary risks,” said Arindam Bagchi, official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We care deeply about the Indian students in Sumy, Ukraine. Strongly pressed the Russian and Ukrainian governments through multiple channels to demand an immediate ceasefire to create a safe corridor for our students.
– Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) March 5, 2022
This came shortly after Indian students stranded in the city of Sumy, in northeastern Ukraine, shared a video saying they had decided to take an adventurous journey to the Russian border 50 kilometers away. In what they claim will be their “final video” from Sumy, they say the Indian government and its embassy in Ukraine will be held accountable if anything happens to them.
However, the students decided not to leave after they were contacted by the embassy.
In the video from the Sumy State University campus, a large group of students can be seen standing in the snow, packed and ready to leave. They are holding some Indian flags.
“Since morning until now, we have been constantly hearing boarding, shelling and fighting. We are afraid, we have waited a lot and can’t wait any longer. We are risking our lives to move towards the border. . If something happens to us, all the responsibility will be on the government and the Indian embassy. If anything happens to anyone, Mission Ganga will be the biggest failure.” a student speaks in the video.
“Please pray for us… This is our last video,” added another student.
Students from the University have repeatedly posted videos highlighting dire situations in which they had to be brave. In the video from one of the dormsStudents are seen collecting snow to melt water.
They say that about 800-900 Indian students have been detained in the dormitories of the Sumy State University Medical Institute for more than a week and have almost run out of food and water.
They have no clue for an evacuation and issued an appeal to the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modisaid, “We will all be killed”.
“We haven’t done anything yet. We have seen some foreign students leave Sumy voluntarily but they were shot. We have video to show that,” an Indian student said in one of the events. message. Behind him, about a hundred students were standing, all of them looking worried.
The Indian Embassy last week warned of heavy fighting in Kharkiv, Sumy and Kyiv. Reports say trains and buses have stopped running in Sumy, roads and bridges out of the city have been destroyed, and serious street fighting.
Russia informed the United Nations Security Council today that Russian buses are ready at the junctions to reach the cities of Kharkiv and Sumy, eastern Ukraine to evacuate Indian students and public workers. Other foreigners are stuck there.
“In the Belgorod region of Russia, 130 comfortable buses have been waiting (and ready) since 6 a.m. today at the junctions ‘Nekhoteevka’ and ‘Sudja’ ready to go to Kharkiv and Sumy to take a look. disperse Indian students and other foreign nationals,” said Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia.
The Russian envoy said that the checkpoints are equipped to provide temporary accommodation, resting space and hot food. There are also mobile medical stations with drug depots.
“Every evacuee will then be taken to Belgorod, and from there transported by air to their homeland,” he said.
The Indian Embassy in Ukraine said today that it is exploring “all possible mechanisms” to evacuate them safely and securely. In an early morning Tweet, they said they discussed the evacuation and identified exit routes with all of their interlocutors including the international humanitarian organization Red Cross.
“Learned all possible mechanisms for evacuating Indian nationals in Sumy, safely and securely. Evacuated and identified exits discussed with all interlocutors including Red Cross. The control room will continue to operate until all of our citizens are evacuated. Be Safe Be Strong,” it said.
At least 1,000 Indians – 700 in Sumy and 300 in Kharkiv – are still trapped in conflict zones in eastern Ukraine, the government said on Friday, adding that the bus arrangement was to help Dispersing them is the biggest challenge today.
