Ukraine crisis: Indian student killed as Russia intensifies attack

 Govt steps up evacuation efforts; all Indians have left Kyiv: Foreign secy

The first Indian to become collateral damage in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, originally from a small village in Karnataka’s Haveri district, was killed in intense shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Tuesday. As the Russian army closed in on Kyiv, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine sent a message to all Indians to get out of the capital immediately, by any means possible. About 400 students who were living near the Indian Embassy were successfully sent to Romania and were on their way home.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who chaired a high-level meeting on Tuesday, announced that the Indian Air Force would be deployed for evacuations in addition to commercial aircraft. He also spoke to Naveen’s father, who alleged that the government did nothing to reach out to stranded Indian students in Kharkiv. After the meeting on the Ukraine crisis, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said all Indian nationals had left Kyiv.d.