20,000 Indian Nationals Evacuate from Ukraine... 1,000 Stranded in Conflict Zones

Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Requests Russia and Ukraine to "Ceasefire for Civilian Evacuation"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] It has been reported that about 20,000 Indians have escaped from Ukraine, where fighting is ongoing following the Russian invasion. However, in conflict zones such as eastern Kharkiv (Harikop) and the northeastern border city of Sumy, where bombings are taking place, it is known that about 1,000 people have not yet escaped and remain trapped.

Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated at a press briefing on the afternoon of the 4th (local time) that about 20,000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine since mid-last month.

Bagchi explained that among them, 10,300 returned home by special flights from countries neighboring Ukraine. He added that about 16 special flights will be arranged over the next 24 hours to continue the evacuation operation for Indian nationals.

However, Bagchi mentioned that 2,000 to 3,000 Indians are still staying in Ukraine, and more than 1,000 have not been able to leave the conflict zones.

Among the 1,000 who have not escaped from the conflict zones, 700 are reported to be in Sumy and 300 in Kharkiv. Most of them are said to be medical students studying locally.

According to Indian NDTV, students trapped in the Sumy University hostel said in a video message, "There is no water or food here," and "bombings continue every 20 minutes."

They added, "There is talk that buses are waiting to take us to the Russian border side, but snipers are positioned all around, so we cannot get out of here."

Bagchi also requested the Russian and Ukrainian authorities to locally declare ceasefires to allow the evacuation of Indian nationals. Earlier, Russia and Ukraine agreed during the second peace talks on the 3rd to establish humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuation and to observe ceasefires around these corridors. However, both sides have only accused each other of obstructing the corridor establishment, and there has been no substantial progress regarding the ceasefire.

The Indian government is currently supporting the evacuation of its nationals and citizens of developing countries in Ukraine's neighboring countries such as Hungary, Romania, Poland, Moldova, and Slovakia. To this end, not only diplomatic teams but also four ministers have been dispatched to the border countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.