India dismissed for a second time Russia's claims that 3,000 Indians stuck in Ukraine are being held hostage by Ukrainian security forces, saying that students have been in contact and have described no such situation.
A top official has told The Indian Express that almost all Indian students in Ukraine had mobile phone connections and were in touch with their parents, representatives of the government and the media.
“None of them described any situation of them being in captivity or being held hostage or being detained against their wishes,” the official said. “Yes, they may have said some Ukrainian authorities are uncooperative and we are trying our best to work on that.” The official also said no money has been demanded for their release, and as such, it cannot be described as a hostage situation.
The Russian claim figured in a readout issued by Kremlin that mentioned the key points made by Putin during a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday evening.
"We have not received any reports of any hostage situation regarding any student. We have requested the support of the Ukrainian authorities in arranging special trains for taking out students from Kharkiv and neighbouring areas to the western part of the country," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
Bagchi 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 buses, and that over 20,000 Indians have left Ukraine since India issued initial advisories in mid-February before the conflict began and that over 10,300 citizens were brought back in 48 flights under evacuation mission 'Operation Ganga' so far.
“The (core) problem is how to get these students from their locations in Kharkiv, Sumy, and other areas to the eastern border sharing with Russia…there are buses waiting there, but that route is about 50 to 60 km away through the conflict zone. They are too far away and can’t walk that distance. We want safe passage for the students through that area. Without a local ceasefire between the Russians and Ukrainians, it is difficult to take these students to the buses. We don’t want to cross the stretch where it is risk. We appeal and urge the parties to have a local ceasefire,” the official told the publication.
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