Month: February 2022

The first flight to Mumbai with 219 Indian nationals has taken off from Romania, said External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Saturday.

“Regarding evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine, we are making progress. Our teams are working on the ground round the clock. I am personally monitoring. The first flight to Mumbai with 219 Indian nationals has taken off from Romania,” Jaishankar tweeted.

Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis, the Indian Embassy in Kiev 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 to not 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, Kiev,” 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 Kiev 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)

The Russian armed forces struck Ukrainian military facilities with sea- and land-based cruise missiles at night, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday.

“During the night, the Russian armed forces struck facilities of the Ukrainian military infrastructure with long-range precision weapons using air- and sea-based cruise missiles,” Konashenkov told reporters.

According to the spokesman, in total, the Russian armed forces destroyed 821 objects of the Ukrainian military infrastructure.

“Among them are 14 military airfields, 19 command posts and communication centres, 24 S-300 and Osa anti-aircraft missile systems, 48 radar stations. 7 combat aircraft, 7 helicopters, 9 unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down. 87 tanks and other combat armoured vehicles, 28 multiple rocket launchers, 118 units of special military vehicles were destroyed,” Konashenkov said.

He added that the Russian navy destroyed 8 Ukrainian military boats.

Konashenkov also stressed that only military facilities are subject to attack, no damage is caused to residential and social infrastructure.

On Thursday, Russia began a special operation to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine, responding to calls from the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics for help in countering the aggression of Ukrainian forces. The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow says it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. (ANI/Sputnik)

Amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis, Uttarakhand director general of police (DGP) Ashok Kumar on Saturday said the police have received information that about 188 people from Uttarakhand are stranded in Ukraine.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is constantly working out necessary arrangements to bring back Indian people stranded in Ukraine.
“We have got information that 188 people from Uttarakhand are stranded in Ukraine. MEA is working on necessary arrangements to get them out. The general helpline number of Uttarakhand is 112,” Kumar said.

A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions — Donetsk and Luhansk — as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations “to protect” the people in the Donbas region.

Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia’s military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow.

Amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, several airlines are operating special flights, including Air

India, to bring back Indian nationals safely.

In the coming days for Indian citizens, more flights are going to be operated from Ukraine (Kiev) amid tension in the country. (ANI)

As many as fifty counties have issued a joint statement saying that Russia “abused” its veto power by blocking a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution condemning the Russian military action in Ukraine.

This comes after Russia on Friday vetoed a draft UN resolution on Ukraine.
The joint statement, which was read aloud by the US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said this resolution was “vital and straightforward.”

“Fundamentally, it was about whether the countries on the Security Council – charged with maintaining international peace and security – believe in upholding the UN Charter,” the statement said.

Holding Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible, the signatories said that Russia’s action amounts to “violation of the UN Charter.”

“Russia has abused its power today to veto our strong resolution. But Russia cannot veto our voices. Russia cannot veto the Ukrainian people. Russia cannot veto their own people protesting this war in the streets. Russia cannot veto the UN Charter. Russia cannot, and will not, veto accountability,” the statement added.

“We will be taking this matter to the General Assembly, where the Russian veto does not apply and the nations of the world will continue to hold Russia accountable,” it added.

The vote on Russia was 11 in favour, one against, and three abstentions.

India, China, and UAE abstained from voting on the draft resolution.

India may have abstained from the vote but New Delhi has called for immediate de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine and advocated for a diplomatic solution. (ANI)

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is constantly working out necessary arrangements to bring back Indian students stranded in war-hit Ukraine.

Speaking to ANI, the Union Minister said, “Receiving calls from across the country, especially from Jammu and Kashmir from parents of students currently in Ukraine. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is constantly working out necessary arrangements. No need to worry or panic.”

Kolkata police in collaboration with the Anti-FICN team of Special Task Force on Friday intercepted one man from the Seven Tanks Lane, Kolkata for allegedly possessing Rs 6.7 crore worth heroin, said a statement by STF.

The accused has been identified as Pran Basak (46), a resident of Sahebganj, Jharkhand.
He will be produced before the Court of Ld Spl Judge NDPS Court, Bichar Bhawan Calcutta on Saturday. (ANI)

As Russian troops continued to advance on the capital city of Kiev, German Ambassador to India Walter Lindner on Saturday condemned President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch military operations in Ukraine.

“It’s Putin’s war; it’s a shame that it is happening. We react with economic sanctions. We can’t allow the occupation of one country by another. We want an international community that is based on international laws,” Ambassador Lindner told ANI.
These remarks come a day after the heads of missions of European countries in India, including ambassador Lindner, expressed solidarity with their Ukrainian counterpart while condemning Russia’s military action in Ukraine.

“The violation of national sovereignty and international laws is not acceptable. We must respect the international borders. My heart goes out to every student who has to leave Ukraine due to invasion by the Russian Army,” he said.

Explosions in parts of Kiev were heard as Russian forces approached the city, CNN reported 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.

Amid the growing military operation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised to defend his country while standing on the street of the national capital.

Kremlin said that the Russian President is ready to send a delegation of high-ranking officials to Minsk to hold talks with Kiev. (ANI)

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation of high-ranking officials to Minsk to hold talks with Kiev, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday.

Putin also confirmed talks in Minsk in a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine at a high level,” Putin said, cited by Sputnik News Agency.

Meanwhile, Beijing supported the settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through dialogue, the Chinese President said.

“Recently, the situation in eastern Ukraine has been changing rapidly, which has attracted increased attention from the international community… China supports the settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through negotiations,” Xi was quoted as saying by the CCTV.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said earlier in the day that Moscow is ready for negotiations on Kiev at any moment.

“We are ready for negotiations. At any moment, as soon as the armed forces of Ukraine respond to the call of our president (Vladimir Putin), stop resisting and lay down their arms. No one is going to attack them, no one is going to oppress them, let them return to their families,” Lavrov said.

A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported.

“The Russian Armed Forces are not targeting Ukrainian cities in the special military operation, but putting the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ infrastructure out of operation,” said Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

“Measures will be taken to ensure the safety of UN and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) missions’ staff in Ukraine,” she added.

“For 8 years, we have tried to encourage the authorities in Kiev to stop the punitive operation against its own people and settle the conflict in Donbas by peaceful, political and diplomatic means. Unfortunately, they simply ignored us,” said Zakharova in a tweet.

She said that Ukrainian authorities made no bones of violating their own Constitution and laws and adopted discriminatory laws on language, education and indigenous peoples.

“On February 24, @MFA_Ukraine notified us that it had cut diplomatic ties with Russia. We regret that the Kiev regime has chosen the path of severing its ties with Russia and everything Russian. We do hope that history will soon set everything straight,” tweeted Zakharova.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations “to protect” the people in the Donbas region.

Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia’s military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden on Thursday said that the US will introduce a new wave of sanctions against Russia in a broad effort to isolate Moscow from the global economy.

The new package of sanctions aims to cut Russia off from the US financial markets and includes freezing the assets of four major Russian banks, including VTB Bank, the nation’s second-biggest bank. (ANI)