New Delhi: Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla on Thursday stated the situation in Ukraine continues to be tense amidst Russia's attack on its erstwhile Soviet ally on Thursday morning. However, he added that the situation on the ground is rapidly evolving. Shringla said that the topmost priority of the government is the safety and security of Indian nationals in Ukraine as reiterated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Cabinet Committee of Security chaired by him this evening.
The External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar will be speaking to his counterpart in Ukraine on Thursday night as well as the Foreign Ministers of Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary to this effect, Shringla added.
Talking about the steps taken by the Indian embassy in Ukraine to deal with the crisis in the country, Shringla stresses that the Indian government had already started the registration of Indian nationals in Ukraine, a month ago. Out of 20,000 Indian nationals in Ukraine, 4000 have already left Ukraine in the past few days. The MEA control room set up in Delhi received 980 calls and 850 emails in the past few days, he added.
The Indian Embassy in Ukraine continues to be functional and has issued several advisories on the evolving situation in the country. The Ministry of External Affairs is in the process of pursuing all universities in Ukraine to conduct online classes for the time being and for providing welfare and safety for all Indian students in the country.
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Harsh V Shringla added that though sanctions have been imposed on Russia by many European countries like the UK, US, Australia, and Japan, India would like to analyze the impacts of these sanctions on Indian interests and how they will impact India's relations with Russia. The Ministry is in talks with the Defence Ministry to keep provision for airlift of Indians keeping in mind the evolving situation in Ukraine. Roadways have already been mapped out to evacuate Indian nationals from Kyiv, he added.
Talking about the much-anticipated talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Russian President Vladimir Putin, Shringla said that "it would be difficult to guess in advance the nature of their conversation."
On Thursday morning, the Russian military targeted Ukrainian air bases and other military assets in what President Putin described as a 'military operation' in eastern Ukraine. Putin had also warned that any foreign attempt to interfere with Russian action would lead to 'consequences they have never seen'. This was followed by Western powers US, UK, and several others imposing the 'toughest' sanctions on Russia.
