Indians in Ukraine told to return

Special Desk

Unless necessary, Indians in Ukraine have been advised to return to their native country followion tension in there. Family members of Indian embassy staff in Ukraine have already been told to return India.

Air India is operating flights between Kyiv, the capital and most populous city of Ukraine, to Delhi on February 22, 23 and 26. “In view of the demand from Indian community/students in Ukraine for flights between KYIV –Delhi due to uncertainities of the current situation in Ukraine, Air India is operating three flights between Kyiv-Delhi. Bookings are now open through Air India booking offices,” tweeted the Embassy of India in Kyiv.

Currently, the two countries Ukraine and Russia are in a state of war. The Russian government feared that Ukraine’s membership of the EU and NATO would complete a western wall of allied countries by restricting Russia’s access to the Black Sea.

For months the US said it did not think a final decision had been made, but on 18 February President Joe Biden said he believed Russia’s Vladinir Putin had decided to attack in the coming days. Russia is adamant it has no plans to attack Ukraine, a country of 44 million people. But it has before, in 2014, when it seized Crimea and backed a conflict in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

Nato says everything points to a full-fledged attack. According to the US, Russia has moved more than 150,000 troops close to Ukraine’s borders, both in Russia and in Belarus, and 40,000 more if you include Russian-backed separatists and Crimea. One US defence official said about 50% are in an attack position but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insists there is no need to panic.

The tension has led to a decision to shift Indians out of Ukraine. “All Indian nationals whose stay is not deemed essential and all Indian students, are advised to leave Ukraine temporarily,” the Indian embassy in Ukraine tweeted.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke for an hour late on Sunday night in their second conversation of the day, the French presidency said. The two leaders had already held a nearly two-hour-long phone conversation the same day as part of a series of discussions between heads of state to try to avoid a major conflict in Ukraine.