“Be Strong,” says the Indian Embassy to students in Sumy, Ukraine

Following a flurry of desperate video appeals from Indian students stranded in Sumy, northeast Ukraine, the Indian embassy in the war-torn country today said it is looking into “all viable avenues” to safely and securely evacuate them. It stated it has addressed evacuation and identification of exit routes with all interlocutors, including the international humanitarian organisation Red Cross, in a tweet sent early this morning.

“Exploring all possible mechanisms to evacuate Indian citizens in Sumy, safely & securely. Discussed evacuation & identification of exit routes with all interlocuters including Red Cross. Control room will continue to be active until all our citizens are evacuated. Be Safe Be Strong,” it said.

On Friday, India requested a ceasefire from Russian and Ukrainian military so that its residents may be evacuated from the combat zones of Kharkiv and Sumy.

At least 1,000 Indians remain stranded in eastern Ukraine’s conflict zones, with 700 in Sumy and 300 in Kharkiv, according to the government, with arranging buses to transfer them proving to be the most difficult task at the moment.

At Sumy State University, a group of Indian students made an emotional plea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to save their lives. They report that bombs are being dropped near their university campus, and that they often hear gunfights and air raids.

Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said at a press conference that over 20,000 Indians have left Ukraine since India issued initial advisories in mid-February, before the conflict began, and that over 10,300 citizens have been brought back in 48 flights under the ‘Operation Ganga’ evacuation mission.

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