Russia-Ukraine War: Rahul Gandhi writes to Jaishankar, seeks evacuation of Indian students

Amid rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday wrote a letter to the External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar urging him to take immediate steps to repatriate thousands of Indians from his parliamentary constituency Wayanad stranded in Ukraine.

"A letter has been sent to the Union Minister of External Affairs urging him to take immediate steps to repatriate thousands of Indians from Wayanad stranded in Ukraine," tweeted Gandhi.

"This is an urgent appeal to assist Indian students waiting to be evacuated from Ukraine. I am deeply concerned by the grave threat to their safety and security posed by the events unfolding in Ukraine," said the letter.

The letter further added that several thousand students are currently pursuing their higher education in Ukraine, including many from my parliamentary constituency, Wayanad.

"Given the massive escalation in the conflict coupled with the looming uncertainty, the Indian students have desperately sought help from the Indian government," it further read.

In light of these circumstances, I request you to extend assistance to ensure their safety, and take all possible measures to evacuate them on priority, it stated.

Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis, the Indian Embassy in Kyiv has advised Indian citizens against moving to any of the border checkpoints without prior coordination with government officials at border posts.

So far, a total of 469 Indian nationals have been evacuated from war-hit Ukraine, out of which 250 landed in Delhi on Sunday morning and 219 landed in Mumbai on Saturday evening.

In an advisory to Indian nationals on Saturday, the embassy stressed that the situation at various border checkpoints is sensitive and it is working continuously with Embassies in the neighboring countries for coordinated evacuation of our citizens.

The embassy further advised Indians to stay in western cities of Ukraine where access to water, food, accommodation, and basic amenities is relatively safer.

This comes as the Russian military continues to advance in the capital city of Ukraine, according to media reports. Explosions in parts of Kyiv were heard on Friday as Russian forces approached the city, media reports said on Saturday.

Videos from eyewitnesses show explosions taking place in the Ukrainian capital city as some media reports said Ukraine and Russia are discussing a place and time for talks.

(ANI)

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