Ukraine Army holding Indians hostage in Kharkiv to use as 'human shields' claims Russia

In a key development, Russian Embassy in India alleged that a group of Indian students were taken hostage by the Ukrainian security forces in order to use them as a human shield. The Embassy alleged that the Ukrainian forces were using every possible way to prevent them from leaving for Russia. "According to our information, Ukrainian authorities forcibly keep a large group of Indian students in Kharkiv who wish to leave Ukrainian territory and go to Belgorod," a Russian military spokesperson said at a briefing. Meanwhile, in the subsequent tweet, the Embassy said that the Russian Side, in particular, was trying to organize an urgent evacuation of a group of Indian students from Kharkiv through the humanitarian corridor along the shortest route to Russia. 

"In fact, they are being held as hostages & offered to leave the territory of Ukraine via Ukrainian-Polish border. They offered to go through the territory where active hostilities are taking place," tweeted Russia in India late at night. It is worth mentioning that the tweets from the Embassy came hours after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and reviewed the situation in Ukraine, especially in Kharkiv. Both the leaders also discussed the safe evacuation of the Indian nationals from the conflict areas. "The leaders reviewed the situation in Ukraine, especially in the city of Kharkiv where many Indian students are stuck. They discussed the safe evacuation of the Indian nationals from the conflict areas," the PMO statement said.

Ukraine reacts to the allegations

Meanwhile, in the last tweet, the Russian Embassy in India said that the Russian armed forces are ready to take all necessary measures for the safe evacuation of the Indian citizens. The Embassy also said they would send the students to their home with its own military transport planes or Indian planes, as the Indian side proposed to do. Reacting to the allegations, the Government of Ukraine said it stood ready to assist foreign students in relocating from Kharkiv but demanded Russia to commit to a ceasefire. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine took to Twitter and appealed to the Asian countries including, India, Pakistan and China to appeal to the Russian government to allow the opening of a humanitarian corridor to other Ukrainian cities.

"Attempting to arrange evacuations through cities that are being subjected to Russian bombing and missile strikes is extremely dangerous. We urgently call on the governments of India, Pakistan, China and other countries whose students have become hostages of the Russian armed aggression in Kharkiv and Sumy, to demand from Moscow that it allows the opening of a humanitarian corridor to other Ukrainian cities. The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday said that nearly 17,000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine's border since the first travel advisory was issued by the Indian Embassy in Kyiv and as many as 15 flights were scheduled over the next 24 hours.

Image: ANI