India seeks ceasefire from Russian, Ukrainian armies to evacuate citizens

India on Friday sought ceasefire by Russian and Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine for evacuation of Indian citizens stuck in conflict zones and said it is yet to see the implementation of the decision by the two sides to create safe corridors for the exit of the civiliansArindam Bagchi the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs MEA said that around 300 Indians are stranded in Kharkiv and 700 are in Sumy while some citizens out of over 900 are being taken out of Pisochyn in five busesAt a media briefing he said India is primarily focusing on evacuating its nationals out of the conflict zones in eastern Ukraine including from Kharkiv and Sumy adding that the total number of Indians stuck in Ukraine could be roughly in the range of 2000 to 3000Asked about Russian President Vladimir Putins comments Thursday that some Indians are being held hostage by Ukrainian forces the MEA spokesperson once again rejected the claim saying India does not have any such information or reportsOn Thursday too Bagchi rejected claims by both Russia and Ukraine that Indian students are being held hostage in KharkivIn the briefing he also said that India has evacuated one Bangladeshi national as part of its mission to bring back the stranded IndiansBagchi said India was in touch with all parties concerned on the evacuation of the Indians and sought a local ceasefire in the conflict zones to get them out of the areas witnessing fighting and violenceThe spokesperson also said that India has not seen any movement after it emerged that Russia and Ukraine on Thursday agreed to the need for the creation of humanitarian corridors to help civilians leave the conflict zonesWe have not seen anything further to that in terms of implementation of the same on the ground We are closely and eagerly monitoring that he saidIf that happens it will certainly help our process We have been asking for a cessation of hostilities by both sides Local ceasefire or whatever works to get our people out of the conflict zones Bagchi saidMykhailo Podolyak an adviser to Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after talks between Russia and Ukraine that the two sides reached an understanding to establish safe corridors for civiliansAsked about reports that Russian reports that Moscow has arranged 130 buses for evacuation of Indians from eastern Ukrainian cities Bagchi said the buses are around 5060 km away from where the students areThey are frankly too far away We do not see a safe and secure way to reach them I would appeal and urge the parties concerned to have a local ceasefire at least so that the students can go to the buses he saidOn whether an IL76 transport aircraft is being put on standby for evacuation of Indians from the Russian side Bagchi without giving a specific reply said all are in readinessThe core problem is how we get the students from where they are to the buses which are far away he saidBagchi said around 20000 Indians have left Ukraines borders since India issued its first travel advisories in midFebruaryHe said 15 flights landed in India as part of the evacuation mission during the last 24 hours bringing back more than 3000 nationalsThe spokesperson said 16 flights are scheduled for the next 24 hours to bring back the Indians from Romania Hungary Slovakia and PolandOver 10300 Indians brought back in 48 flights under evacuation mission Operation Ganga so far he addedThe MEA spokesperson said India will continue with the operation till the last citizen is not taken out of UkraineThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever