No report of Indians being held hostage in Ukraine, says India after Russia's claim
Categories: FOREIGN COUNTRIES
Hours after Russia claimed that the Indian students have been taken hostage by Ukrainian security forces, India on Thursday (March 3, 2022) said that they have not received any reports of any hostage situation. "We have not received any reports of any hostage situation regarding any student.
We have requested the support of the Ukrainian authorities in arranging special trains for taking out students from Kharkiv and neighbouring areas to the western part of the country," the statement added.
The ministry also appreciated the help extended by the Ukrainian authorities to make this possible and thanked Ukraine’s western neighbours in receiving Indian nationals and for accommodating them while they waited for flights to take them back home.
"According to our information, Ukrainian authorities forcibly keep a large group of Indian students in Kharkov who wish to leave Ukrainian territory and go to Belgorod," the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Defence said during the briefing.
"There are students from India, Pakistan, China and other counties who cannot leave because of the indiscriminate shelling and barbaric missile strikes by the Russian Armed Forces on residential areas and civilian infrastructure," Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement."
The Government of Ukraine stands ready to assist foreign students to relocate from Kharkiv and Sumy should Russia commit to a ceasefire. Attempting to arrange evacuations through cities that are being subjected to Russian bombing and missile strikes is extremely dangerous," the statement read.