new Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs has reacted to Russia’s claims and reports of Indians being held hostage by Ukrainian forces in Delhi. The ministry said that they have not received any information about the situation of any Indian student being held hostage in Ukraine.
The MEA said, “Our embassy in Ukraine is in constant contact with Indian nationals in Ukraine. We note that with the cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities, several students have left Kharkiv yesterday. We need to know the status of any hostage in relation to any student. No reports have been found of “.
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MEA official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We are coordinating effectively with countries in the region including Russia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova. A large number of Indian nationals were evacuated from Ukraine in the past few days. We appreciate the help extended by the Ukrainian authorities to make this possible. We thank Ukraine’s western neighbors for accommodating them to wait for flights to receive Indian nationals and take them back home give.”
Earlier, the Russian embassy in India said that Ukrainian security forces in Kharkov are using Indian students as human shields and only allowing them to pass through the Ukrainian-Polish border, where hostilities are taking place.
The Russian embassy in India wrote on Twitter, “To the best of our knowledge, Ukrainian authorities have forcibly placed a large group of Indian students in Kharkov who wish to leave Ukrainian territory and move to Belgorod.”
Ukraine, however, denied the allegations and blamed Russia for taking hostage students from India, Pakistan, China and other countries. It also urged Moscow to allow humanitarian corridors in other Ukrainian cities.