India has advised its citizens, including students, in Ukraine to leave the war-torn country “at the earliest” in view of the “recent escalation of hostilities”.
Indian citizens, including students, currently in Ukraine are advised to leave Ukraine at the earliest by available means,” the Embassy of India in Ukraine said in a statement.
The Indian Embassy also cautioned Indian nationals against travelling to Ukraine, citing the “deteriorating security situation” in the country.
The advisory comes hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared martial law in the four regions of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed – Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – and gave additional emergency powers to authorities in the Russian border areas.
Earlier today, Ukrainian officials alleged that Russian shelling has claimed the lives of at least six civilians and injured 16 over the previous 24 hours.
According to the Ukrainian president’s office, the Russian troops attacked nine southeastern regions of Ukraine using drones, rockets and heavy artillery, with an aim to cause destruction to energy facilities.
Four cities were attacked around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Residential buildings in Nikopol, Marhanets, Chervonohryhorivka, located on the opposite bank of the Dnieper, were damaged.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a telephonic conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asserted that there can be no military solution to the ongoing conflict in the east European country that is battling Russian forces.
Prime Minister Modi reiterated his call for an early cessation of hostilities and the need to pursue the path of dialogue and diplomacy.
