Leave Kyiv urgently, says India's advisory

As Russian forces close in on the Ukrainian capital, the Indian Embassy advised its citizens to immediately leave Kyiv by whatever means available.

New Delhi/Kyiv: As 40-mile Russian military convoy threatens Kyiv, Indian embassy in Ukraine has advised all its citizens to leave the Ukrainian capital Tuesday. "Advisory to Indians in Kyiv All Indian nationals including students are advised to leave Kyiv urgently today. Preferably by available trains or through any other means available," the Indian diplomatic mission in Ukraine said in a tweet.

Satellite photos show a convoy of Russian forces north of Ukraine's capital stretching for 40 miles. The vast convoy of armored vehicles, tanks, artillery and support vehicles was 17 miles (25 kilometers) from the center of Kyiv and stretched for about 40 miles, according to satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies. The Maxar photos also showed deployments of ground forces and ground attack helicopter units in southern Belarus.

India has deputed four Union Ministers to Europe as “special envoys” as part of Operation Ganga to rescue those stranded in Ukraine amid Russian invasion. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi had three rounds of high-level meeting and reviewed the strategy of the rescue operation. He had also pressed for the Air Force to involve in the rescue operation.

On Monday night, the Indian embassy in Ukraine said as many as 400 students housed near Embassy since 24 Feb had successfully left Kyiv by train through its efforts. “Ensured movement of more than 1000 students from Kyiv towards Western, today. Advised the remaining few students in Kyiv to leave once curfew is lifted,” the embassy said in a separate tweet.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said nine rescue flights have been operated so far. “We will not rest till our fellow Indians are safe. Ninth #OperationGanga flight departs Bucharest for New Delhi with 218 Indian nationals,” he said.

More than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed after Russian artillery hit a military base in Okhtyrka, a city between Kharkiv and Kyiv, the head of the region wrote on Telegram. Dmytro Zhyvytskyy posted photographs of the charred shell of a four-story building and rescuers searching rubble. In a later Facebook post, he said many Russian soldiers and some local residents also were killed during the fighting.

(with Agency inputs)