The Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement on Thursday clarifying that there was no hostage crisis in Ukraine as the Russian invasion of Kiev entered the seventh day.

In "response to media queries regarding reports of Indian students being held hostage in Ukraine", Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in the statement: "Our Embassy in Ukraine is in continuous touch with Indian nationals in Ukraine. We note that with the cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities, many students have left Kharkiv yesterday (Wednesday).