With the security situation fast deteriorating in Kyiv, the government said the Indian embassy in Ukraine will shift temporarily to Poland. The announcement followed a meeting of the cabinet committee on security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on India’s security preparedness and the prevailing global situation in the context of the Ukraine conflict.
Most Indian embassy officials had already shifted to Lviv near Ukraine’s border with Poland. The conflict, however, has engulfed western Ukraine too with Russia reported to have launched missile attacks on military bases near Lviv.
“In view of the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Ukraine, including attacks in the western parts of the country, it has been decided that the Indian embassy in Ukraine will be temporarily relocated in Poland. The situation will be reassessed in the light of further developments,” the ministry of external affairs said in a statement. Going by the inputs it has received from several European capitals, the government believes the conflict will see a further escalation in the next few days.
In the CCS meeting, Modi was briefed on the latest developments and different aspects of India’s security preparedness in the border areas as well as in the maritime and air domain, according to a press release. “The PM was also briefed on . . . Operation Ganga to evacuate Indian nationals, along with some citizens of India’s neighbouring countries, from Ukraine,” it said.
According to the statement, Modi said all possible efforts should be made to bring back the mortal remains of Naveen Shekharappa, the Indian student who died in Kharkiv. It is learnt that the “accidental” firing of a missile by India that landed in Pakistan was also discussed in the meeting.
