War in Ukraine: Centre to Bear Full Cost of Evacuating Indian Citizens, Students from Ukraine

Russian Invasion Of Ukraine Latest Developments: The central government will bear the cost of evacuation of the Indian students stuck in Ukraine, people familiar with the developments have told CNN-News18. Earlier on Friday, people familiar with the developments told CNNNews18 that two flights will reach the Romanian capital Bucharest from where it will help in the evacuation of Indian students who are expected to reach the Romanian land border with Ukraine.

Parents of students studying in Ukraine have expressed their deep concerns regarding the safety of their children in Ukraine. Ukraine has a large Indian diaspora and the Indian embassy in Kyiv has been taking steps to bring Indian students and Indian citizens back home safely.

Some students speaking to CNN-News18 have highlighted that they are stuck in various locations around Kyiv and Kharkiv where they are left with a minimal amount of essential items as Russian artillery and airstrikes attacked civilian and residential areas of those towns.

Divyanshu Gehlot, a student stuck in Ivano-Frankivsk, told CNN-News18 that at least 1500 students were stuck in the city which faced artillery fire yesterday. “We need help. We are not sure if we are going to Hungary by road. Russian forces are closing in,” Gehlot was quoted as saying by CNN-News18.

“We are very worried. We have not been able to connect with our son since yesterday. My son was trying to leave the country but the university was not very clear about letting them go. And then the airspace was declared shut. He is in touch via SMS. Have been living in a bunker. There is a shortage of essentials including food,” a parent of a student told CNN-News18.

The MEA earlier on Friday morning shared numbers of officials who are reaching the land borders of Romania, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. The embassy in Kyiv also asked students and citizens to remain calm and take shelters in metro stations which have now been changed to bomb shelters to shelter citizens from artillery fire.

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