Month: February 2022

The Slovak cabinet on Sunday agreed to send Ukraine air defense systems and anti-tank missiles worth 4.5 million euros (USD 5 million), Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said Sunday.

“There was a phone call yesterday between Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It was about how we could help Ukraine. The emergency session of the cabinet on Sunday decided to send Ukraine military equipment worth 4.5 million euros. It will be air defense systems and anti-tank missiles,” Nad said. (ANI/Sputnik)

The fifth flight carrying 249 stranded Indian nationals have departed from Romania’s Bucharest for Delhi under operation Ganga, informed External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Monday.

“The fifth #OperationGanga flight, carrying 249 Indian nationals, departed from Bucharest (Romania) for Delhi,” Jaishankar said in a tweet.
Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis, the Indian Embassy in Kyiv has advised Indian citizens against moving to any of the border checkpoints without prior coordination with government officials at border posts.

In an advisory to Indian nationals on Saturday, the embassy stressed that the situation at various border checkpoints is sensitive and it is working continuously with Embassies in the neighbouring countries for coordinated evacuation of our citizens.

“All Indian Citizens in Ukraine are advised not to move to any of the border posts without prior coordination with Government of India officials at the border posts and the Emergency numbers of Embassy of India, Kyiv,” the advisory read.

“Embassy is finding it increasingly difficult to help the crossing of those Indian nationals who reach border checkpoints without prior intimation,” it added.

The embassy further advised Indians to stay in western cities of Ukraine where access to water, food, accommodation, and basic amenities is relatively safer.

This comes as the Russian military continues to advance in the capital city of Ukraine, according to media reports. Explosions in parts of Kyiv were heard on Friday as Russian forces approached the city, media reports said on Saturday.

Videos from eyewitnesses show explosions taking place in the Ukrainian capital city as some media reports said Ukraine and Russia are discussing a place and time for talks. (ANI)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday (local time) had a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and noted that the Russian delegation is in Gomel, Belarus, and is ready for talks with representatives from Kyiv.

“The Russian delegation is in Gomel, Belarus, and is ready for talks with representatives from Kyiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin also had a telephone conversation with PM of Israel Naftali Bennett, on Feb 27,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia tweeted.
This comes after Ukraine had agreed to meet with a Russian delegation in Belarus.

Earlier, Bennett proposed that Israel serve as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine during a phone call with Putin on Sunday, The Times of Israel reported citing a readout released by the Kremlin.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had proposed the idea of Israeli mediation to Bennett on Friday, emphasized the country’s readiness for peace talks. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Ukraine issue on Sunday.

The meeting was attended by Foreign Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla among others.

This comes at a time when the Government of India government is evacuating Indian citizens from Ukraine under the evacuation plan titled ‘Operation Ganga’. So far, a total of 469 Indian nationals have been evacuated from Ukraine, out of which 250 landed in Delhi on Sunday morning and 219 landed in Mumbai on Saturday evening.

Earlier on Saturday, PM Modi spoke with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and expressed India’s willingness to contribute in any way towards peace efforts in the wake of the ongoing conflict situation in Ukraine.

President Zelenskyy briefed the Prime Minister in detail about the ongoing conflict situation in Ukraine due to Russia’s military operations. The Prime Minister called for an immediate cessation of violence and a return to dialogue.

PM Modi expressed his deep anguish about the loss of life and property due to the ongoing conflict. “He reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of violence and a return to dialogue, and expressed India’s willingness to contribute in any way towards peace efforts,” a PMO release said.

PM Modi’s call with the Ukraine President came two days after his telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He had appealed for an immediate cessation of violence and had called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue in his talks with Putin.

The Prime Minister had also reiterated his long-standing conviction that the differences between Russia and the NATO group can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue. President Putin had briefed the Prime Minister about the recent developments regarding Ukraine.

Notably, Russia on Friday (local time) vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Ukraine, while India, China, and UAE abstained from the vote. The vote was 11 in favour, one against, and three abstentions. India has abstained from the vote but New Delhi has called for immediate de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine and advocated for a diplomatic solution.

Russia had on Monday recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhanussisk – as independent entities following which the situation escalated. (ANI)

Russian President Vladimir Putin placed the country’s nuclear deterrent forces on a “special” alert on Sunday amid the rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Putin announced the move during a meeting with Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov, reported RT News.

“Western countries are not only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic area. I’m speaking about the illegitimate sanctions that everyone is well aware of. However, the top officials of the leading NATO countries also make aggressive statements against our country as well,” Putin stated.

Moreover, Ukraine has agreed to meet with a Russian delegation in Belarus, and Russians are heading to the place where the talks will be held, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said Sunday.

The talks are expected to take place in the Gomel region at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, Belta news agency reported. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the Russian delegation is ready for the talks and waiting for their Ukrainian counterparts to arrive.

“As you know, President [of Belarus Alexander] Lukashenko had a phone call with President [of Ukraine Volodymyr] Zelenskyy. After that, President Lukashenko turned to the Russian side, to President [Vladimir] Putin, asking him not to recall the Russian delegation, as Ukraine signalled its willingness to come to the talks in the Gomel region,” Peskov said. (ANI)

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s recently released magnum opus starring Alia Bhatt in the lead role maintained its charm on the box office as it minted Rs 13.32 crores on the second day of its release.

‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ which was released on February 25, Friday opened with a good response at the Indian box office and collected Rs 10.50 crores on the first day.
Indian movie critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh on Saturday shared the figures and informed that the movie has proved to be the third biggest opener amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The first was Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Sooryavanshi’ that was released during the Diwali festival and earned Rs 26.29 crores on its opening day.

The second biggest opener in the pandemic times was Ranveer Singh-starrer sports drama ’83’ that was released during Christmas minting Rs 12.64 crores on its opening day.

Taking to his Twitter handle on Sunday, Adarsh shared the second say statistics that read, “#GangubaiKathiawadi witnesses super growth on Day 2… Tier-2 cities – which weren’t too strong on Day 1 – join the party on Day 2… Strong word of mouth has come into play, hence expect bigger numbers on Day 3… Fri 10.50 cr, Sat 13.32 cr. Total: Rs 23.82 cr. #India biz.”

‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ revolves around a maiden sold by a suitor into prostitution and how she becomes a prominent and celebrated figure in the underworld and Kamathipua red-light district.

It also starred superstar Ajay Devgn in a pivotal role. (ANI)

As the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine is going on under ‘Operation Ganga’, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday alleged that Air India has increased the fare of tickets of its flights from Ukraine due to which many students could not come back on time.

Speaking to ANI, Baghel said, “Air India has increased the fare of tickets from Rs 24,000-Rs 25,000 to Rs 60,000- Rs 80,000, had it been the same, many more students would have possibly come back on time.”
The Chief Minister further requested the Government of India to bring students near the border so that they are evacuated safely and also urged to increase the number of evacuation flights.

“The students stranded in Kharkiv and Kyiv are facing a lot of difficulties. I request the Government of India to bring these students near the border so that they are evacuated safely. Also, the number of evacuation planes should be increased,” he added.

The second special evacuation flight of Air India carrying 250 Indians landed at the Delhi airport in the early hours of Sunday. Air India’s AI-1942 has been operated as a special charter flight from Bucharest to Delhi Airport.

The first flight from Romania carrying 219 Indian students reached Mumbai on Saturday evening.

The third flight to Delhi with 240 Indian nationals has also taken off from Hungary’s Budapest under Operation Ganga, informed Minister of External Affairs, Dr S Jaishankar.

So far, a total of 469 Indian nationals have been evacuated from war-hit Ukraine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and conveyed India’s deep concern for the safety and security of Indian citizens, including students, present in Ukraine.

He sought facilitation by Ukrainian authorities to expeditiously and safely evacuate Indian citizens.

Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis, the Indian Embassy in Kyiv has advised Indian citizens against moving to any of the border checkpoints without prior coordination with government officials at border posts.

This comes as the Russian military continues to advance in the capital city of Ukraine, according to media reports. Explosions in parts of Kyiv were heard on Friday as Russian forces approached the city, media reports said on Saturday. (ANI)

The demand for fur shoes is skyrocketing in the markets of Kashmir valley and Srinagar after the region receives good snowfall.

After a long dry spell, the climatic conditions abruptly changed. For the last few days, the Himalayan and Pir Panjal Range Mountains including Srinagar city received fresh snowfall and the temperature also decreased which resulted in the increase in the sale of fur shoes and people that are related to this trade are also doing very good business.
“This year we could not manage to deliver the orders earlier due to the COVID but now things are going normal. So we are getting a good number of orders. Snowfall in the last few days has increased demands of our shoes,” Rehmatullah, a fur shoemaker told ANI.

He further added that with the increase in demand for fur shoes, the design also changed but still it doesn’t affect the price of the product.

Winter shoes, popularly known as ‘fur boots’, are being purchased by locals to protect their feet during low-temperature days.

The snowfall brings cheer to the faces of people including those shopkeepers who are selling fur shoes in winters.

Shopkeeper Mushtaq, who sells fur shoes said, “After the fresh snowfall in the region and with the increase of tourists to the Valley, the demand for the fur shoes has increased.”

Prateek, a tourist said, “Yesterday, I came here in my sports shoes but due to the weather condition in Kashmir, our shoes got wet really quick so we changed our shoes to fur shoes. Fur shoes proved to be helpful in the winter season.” (ANI)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been suspended as honorary president and ambassador of the International Judo Federation on Sunday.

The sports governing body removed Putin in light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

“In light of the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine, the International Judo Federation announces the suspension of Vladimir Putin’s status as Honorary President and Ambassador of the International Judo Federation,” the International Judo Federation in a statement said.

The Russian President ordered special military operations on February 24 “to protect” the people in the Donbas region.

Earlier, Putin had recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities.

Russia has been facing immense criticism, especially from the western countries over the recent actions. A number of countries including the US, UK and Germany have applied fresh rounds of sanctions on Russia. (ANI)