With the Ukraine situation still uncertain, the government asked the family members of all Indian diplomats in the country to return to India. The government had so far maintained that there was no reason to panic and that the Indian mission would continue to function normally. In another advisory, the government asked all Indian students, as also other Indian nationals whose stay is not essential, to leave Ukraine while advising them to make use of available commercial flights.
“Indian students are advised to also get in touch with respective student contractors for updates on charter flights, and also continue to follow the embassy Facebook, website and Twitter for any update,” the embassy said. While looking to ensure the safety and security of close to 20,000 Indian nationals in Ukraine, India has continued to walk the diplomatic tightrope on the issue, with foreign minister S Jaishankar saying on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that diplomacy was the answer to the crisis. He said the situation called for a very different kind of approach and that, at the end of the day, diplomacy was the answer. “One has to look at ways of reconciling,” he said.
India’s decision to recall family members of diplomats came in the middle of Jaishankar’s visit to Europe for the conference in Germany and also an Indo-Pacific event organised by France. India has been under pressure from the US and its European partners to speak up on Russian aggression.
Russia has positioned around 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine, besides sending warships into the Black Sea for naval exercises, triggering concerns among the Nato countries of an invasion. The West has been severely critical of Russia over the build-up, with the US sending extra troops to Europe to support its allies.
20 Vadodara students back
Around 20 students from Vadodara returned from Ukraine on Monday, said Astha Sindha one of those returned on Sunday. She said that she took the decision due to the concerns of her family and uncertainty despite being at a relatively safer place. “I was in Chernivtsi in western Ukraine and we did not feel that a war was inevitable. But due to the uncertainty there and tensions in the family, I decided to return,” Astha said.
