An Indian student was killed on Tuesday in shelling in Ukraine, the foreign ministry said as it urged Russia and Ukraine to secure safe passage for thousands of citizens stranded in the middle of war. The 21-year-old Naveen Shekharappa, a final year medical student from Karnataka's Haveri, died when Russian soldiers blew up a government building on Tuesday.
The external affairs ministry said that Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla talked to the ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine to reiterate India's demand for urgent safe passage for Indian nationals whoa re still in Kharkiv and cities in other conflict zones". Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the student's father and called his fourth meeting in three days on the Ukraine crisis.
Naveen Shekharappa was standing in a queue outside a grocery store when he was hit. Pooja Praharaj, a student coordinator in Kharkiv, said that he died soon after the shelling.
"The deteriorating situation in Kharkiv is a matter of grave concern. The safety and security of Indian nationals in that city is of utmost priority to Government," government sources said. Around 16,000 Indian students are still stranded in Ukraine.
The Indian embassy had asked students to go to the railway station in Kyiv, where special evacuation trains have been arranged by Ukraine to take people to the western region. Many students complained that they were not allowed to board the trains or they were mistreated by officials.
