Tag: india in ukraine

India Voices ‘Very Deep’ Concern Over Ukraine Conflict, Says It’s on the Side of Peace

India has repeatedly called on Russia and Ukraine to return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue and end their ongoing conflict.

Vienna: Voicing “very deep” concern over the ongoing Ukraine conflict, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday, January 1, said that India is on the side of peace and since beginning New Delhi’s effort has been to return to dialogue and diplomacy as differences cannot be settled through violence.

Jaishankar, who arrived in Vienna from Cyprus on the second leg of his two-nation tour, made the remarks while addressing the members of the Indian diaspora.

“This (Ukraine) conflict is really a matter of very, very deep concern Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared in September (that) we actually genuinely believe that this is no longer an era of war. You cannot settle differences and issues through violence,” he said.

“So from the very beginning, our effort has been to urge (Russia and Ukraine to) return to dialogue and diplomacy the prime minister himself has spoken on numerous occasions with President (Vladimir) Putin and President (Volodymyr) Zelensky. I myself talked to my colleagues in Russia and Ukraine,” he said.

“We know this is not (an) easily resolvable situation. But it’s important that countries who believe (in)…negotiation, speak up clearly in that regard,” he said, adding that “we’re on the side of peace and a large part of the world thinks like us.”

India has repeatedly called on Russia and Ukraine to return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue and end their ongoing conflict.

Prime Minister Modi has spoken to the presidents of Russia and Ukraine on multiple occasions and urged for immediate cessation of hostilities and return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue for the resolution of the conflict.

In his bilateral meeting with Russian President Putin in Uzbekistan on September 16, Modi said “today’s era is not of war” and nudged him to end the conflict.

India has not yet criticised the Russian attack on Ukraine and has been maintaining that the crisis should be resolved through dialogue.

Jaishankar also told the audience that there are profound changes in India’s national security.

“Much of it is centred around the intense challenges we face on our northern border with China. We continue to have the problem of cross-border terrorism with Pakistan,” he said.

Indian and Chinese troops clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9 and the face-off resulted in “minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides”, according to the Indian Army.

It is the first major clash between the Indian and Chinese armies since the fierce face-off in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

The ties between the two countries have remained frozen since then with India making it clear that peace and tranquillity at the border is the sine qua non for the overall development of bilateral ties.

The two countries have held 17 rounds of talks so far to resolve the standoff.

Relations between India and Pakistan have often been strained over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

Jaishankar also noted that India has vastly improved its relationship with Bangladesh. “We have settled our land boundary agreement with them. It’s an example of how successful diplomacy has directly contributed to a stronger relationship (between the two neighbours),” he said.

In his speech, Jaishankar also said that India and Austria would sign some agreements on Monday and some of them are of interest to the Indian diaspora – one on migration and mobility for Indians, who want to come here as students/professionals, and another on ‘Working Holiday’ programme, which will enable Indian students in Austria to work for six months.

Earlier in the day, Jaishankar held talks with top Austrian leadership in the first diplomatic engagement in 2023 and conveyed the personal greetings of Prime Minister Modi to Chancellor Karl Nehammer.

This is the first EAM-level visit from India to Austria in the last 27 years, and it takes place against the backdrop of 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2023.

(PTI)

Indian Embassy in Ukraine Asks Indians to Leave ‘At the Earliest’

Ukraine has restricted electricity usage nationwide for the first time today following a barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks that have destroyed some power plants just before the cold winter months set in.

New Delhi: The Indian embassy in Ukraine has issued a fresh advisory asking Indian citizens currently in the country to leave Ukraine “at the earliest by available means.”

“In view of the deteriorating security situation and recent escalation of hostilities across Ukraine, Indian nationals are advised against travelling to Ukraine,” the Indian embassy also said.

India’s new advisory recalls a time earlier this year when hourly advisories were being issued as the war first broke out in the region, stranding thousands of Indians, especially students.

In March, an Indian student was killed in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Another Indian national who had received three bullet injuries in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, was evacuated through Poland.

Requests for rescue had populated social media then, with students initially stuck at border points. Many were forced to walk miles in the cold, in the absence of viable transport.

The Indian Air Force’s rescue mission, Operation Ganga, eventually brought back a majority of them on C-17 aircraft.

Ukraine has restricted electricity usage nationwide for the first time today following a barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks that have destroyed some power plants just before the cold winter months set in.

A Russian missile strike hit a major thermal power station in the city of Burshtyn in western Ukraine, the region’s governor said.

Russian president Vladimir Putin meanwhile ordered all of Russia to support the war effort in Ukraine on Wednesday, October 19, as the Russian-appointed administration of Kherson prepared to evacuate the only regional capital Moscow has captured during its invasion.

Russia has also said it will reassess cooperation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres if he sends experts to Ukraine to inspect drones that Western powers say were made in Iran and used by Moscow in violation of a UN resolution.

(With Reuters inputs)

Indian Ambassador in Ukraine Asks People to Stay Calm, Remain in ‘Familiar Locations’

The Embassy has advised against travelling to Kyiv from within the country. In India, the MEA has said it is closely monitoring the situation and has set up a 24×7 control room.

New Delhi: The Indian embassy in Ukraine has issued advisories to Indian nationals in the country, requesting them to maintain calm, urging people not to travel to the country’s capital of Kyiv and assuring them that it is arranging alternative evacuations.

“The present situation in Ukraine is highly uncertain,” the embassy in Kyiv has written in a tweeted advisory.

The announcement comes after Russian forces fired missiles at several cities in Ukraine and landed troops on its south coast after President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east.

With Russia’s focus on eastern Ukraine, the Embassy has asked “all those who are traveling to Kyiv, including those traveling from western parts of Kyiv, are advised to return to their respective cities temporarily, especially towards safer places along the western bordering countries.”

Later in the day, the ambassador issued another advisory directly, requesting all Indians in Ukraine to “remain calm”. The ambassador, Partha Satpathy, said he had been “inundated with calls”, as had the embassy, and both were doing their best to help. He requested those who could to also reach out to their local contacts in Kyiv and ask for help.

In another advisory, the embassy was looking for options for students who have no place to stay and are unable to move around. Given the air sirens and bomb warning, the advisory also links to an official list of underground bomb shelters.

Later on Thursday evening, the embassy said that a “Team from Embassy of India in Hungary has been despatched to the border post Zohanyi to coordinate and provide assistance to facilitate exit of Indians from Ukraine.”

A source at the Ministry of External Affairs sought to clarify that the Indian Embassy in Ukraine is functional and its advisories should be followed carefully.

“Additional Russian speaking officials have been sent to our Embassy in Ukraine and are being deployed in countries neighbouring Ukraine,” they said.

Amidst close monitoring and high-level meetings at the MEA, “focus is on safety and security of Indians, particularly students. MEA control room is being expanded and made operational on 24×7 basis,” MEA sources said.

There is no possibility of sending special aircraft to Ukraine to evacuate Indians, including Indian embassy staff, as Ukraine’s airspace has closed for civilian flights. On its website, Ukraine State Air Traffic Services Enterprise announced the suspension of air traffic services. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) also said airspace in Russia and Belarus within 100 nautical miles of their borders with Ukraine could also pose safety risks.

“In particular, there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft,” the agency said in a conflict zone bulletin.

The MEA source has said alternate evacuation routes are being activated considering the airspace closure.

The Ukraine embassy too tweeted that alternate arrangements were in the works and mentioned helpline numbers.

While some reports suggested that students were queuing outside the Indian embassy in Kyiv with nowhere to go, sources told The Wire that the situation had been sorted out and the students had been provided a place to stay.

“Today morning, a large number of Indian students in Ukraine turned up outside the Indian Embassy in Kyiv. Naturally, not all could be accommodated inside the Embassy premises. Accordingly, the Embassy organised safe premises nearby and the students were moved there. This process took some time given the ground situation in Kyiv. No Indian national is currently stranded outside the Embassy. As fresh students arrive, they are being moved to the safe premises,” the source said.

As per estimates, over 15,000 Indians are currently in Ukraine.

It is learnt that a series of meetings are underway to asses the situation and ways to extend assistance to Indians in that country.

Comments underneath the Indian Embassy’s tweet largely include those from Twitter users requesting evacuation of students.

Many Indian students, most of whom are studying medicine arrived in India from Ukraine on Tuesday night. An earlier advisory from the Embassy, on February 22, had asked students to leave the country temporarily rather than wait for their universities to issue confirmations.

(With agency inputs)