New Delhi: While Russia has declared a partial ceasefire to allow humanitarian corridors out of the southern Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha, the move is unlikely to offer particular reprieve to Indian nationals and especially students who are concentrated in the eastern cities and towns of Ukraine.The Indian embassy has announced that buses are on their way to Pisochyn, Kharkiv’s western suburb where Indian students have been stranded.The Wire had reported accounts of students who said they were unable to board trains from the station, as only Ukrainian women and children were being allowed into the bogeys.“Reaching out to our 298 students in Pisochyn. Buses are enroute and expected to arrive soon. Please follow all safety instructions and precautions,” the embassy tweeted.The Indian embassy has also said it is exploring all possible ways to safely evacuate the Indian nationals from eastern Ukranian city of Sumy, from where students have been sending out repeated requests for rescue.Exploring all possible mechanisms to evacuate 🇮🇳n 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— India in Ukraine (@IndiainUkraine) March 4, 2022“Exploring all possible mechanisms to evacuate Indian citizens in Sumy, safely & securely. Discussed evacuation & identification of exit routes with all interlocutors including Red Cross,” the Indian embassy tweeted.The mission said it is in touch with all interlocutors concerned, including the Red Cross, to identify the exit routes to take out the Indians.Meanwhile, Russia has informed the UN Security Council that Russian buses are ready at crossing points to go to the eastern Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Sumy to evacuate Indian students and other foreign nationals who are stranded there.The Russian ceasefire will allow civilians to leave Mariupol and Volnovakha alone. Sumy, one of the conflict zones witnessing intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, is not mentioned in the Russian defence ministry announcement.Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said on Friday that around 700 Indians are stranded in Sumy.Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne cited authorities in Sumy, about 300 km (190 miles) east of Kyiv, as saying that there is a risk of fighting in the city’s streets, urging residents to stay in shelters.Indians stuck at Sumy have been tweeting on their situation, with several of them decrying the lack of attention from authorities.I am a student in Sumy, Ukraine. YES WE EXIST!!! There are 700-800 students in Sumy. It’s the 7th day of attack and there is no confirmed news on our evacuation. Stress , fear and anxiety are getting to us. Hope is lost. Pls help. #OpGanga @narendramodi @MEAIndia @IndiainUkraine— Radhika Sangwan (@sangwan_radhika) March 2, 2022Yes we exist! Yes we are surviving! Help us asap we have no water no electricity… #sumy #Sumyevacutionviarussiaborder @IndiainUkraine @DrSJaishankar @opganga @timesofindia @BBCBreaking @MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/bbl7hszXy8— Subhash yadav (@Subhash_yadav07) March 4, 2022At a media briefing, Bagchi also urged both the Ukrainian and Russian sides to put in place a “local ceasefire” for evacuation of Indians from the conflict zones including Kharkiv and Sumy.He said India is primarily focusing on evacuating its nationals out of the conflict zones in eastern Ukraine including from Kharkiv and Sumy, adding that the total number of Indians stuck in Ukraine could be roughly in the range of 2,000 to 3,000.Rescue flights land in Delhi, MumbaiAn Air India Express flight from the Hungarian capital Budapest carrying 183 Indian nationals landed in Mumbai on Saturday morning, the airline said.Air India flight IX 1604 had 182 passengers and one infant.Three IAF aircraft carrying 629 Indians from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries landed at the Hindon air base here on Saturday morning, the air force said.India has been evacuating its citizens from war-torn Ukraine’s neighbouring countries such as Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland as the Ukrainian airspace has been shut since February 24 due to the Russian military offensive.“Till date, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has flown 10 sorties to bring back 2,056 passengers, while taking 26 tonnes of relief load to these countries, as part of Operation Ganga,” the IAF statement said.(With agency inputs)Note: This report, originally published at 12.39 pm on March 5, 2022, is being republished on the same date, at 1.55 pm with the latest updates.
