Month: March 2022

While extending support to Kyiv in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, US President Joe Biden has reiterated that his country will not deploy troops in Ukraine against the Russian forces.

Biden’s remarks came during the first State of Union address delivered by him to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on Tuesday (local time).
Condemning Russia’s “premeditated attack” in Ukraine, Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to shake the very foundation of the free world.

He further said that the NATO alliance was created to secure peace and stability in Europe after World War II and the US stands with Ukraine in the ongoing conflict.

However, Biden added that the US will not have boots on the ground in the ongoing war.

“Let me be clear — our forces are not engaged and will not engage in the conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine,” he said.

Biden clarified that the US troops were deployed to Europe not to fight in Ukraine, “but to defend our NATO allies in the event that Putin decides to keep moving west.”

“For that purpose, we have mobilized American ground forces, air squadrons, ship deployments to protect NATO countries, including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia,” he added.

Biden also announced that the US has banned Russian aircraft from its airspace.

Meanwhile, Russia on Tuesday intensified the shelling on the sixth day of its military operations in Ukraine by targeting the capital city Kyiv as well as the second-largest city Kharkiv. (ANI)

Ramping up the government’s efforts to evacuate Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine, an Indian Air Force (IAF) C-17 transport aircraft left for Romania in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The aircraft has taken off from the Hindan airbase at around 4 am.

This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review the efforts to bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine and asked the Indian Air Force to join the evacuation efforts under Operation Ganga.

The sources said that leveraging the capacities of the Air Force will ensure that more people can be evacuated in a shorter time frame and it will also help to deliver humanitarian aid more efficiently.

After Russia’s forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, the Government of India launched ‘Operation Ganga’ to bring back stranded Indian nationals from the conflict-torn Ukraine. As part of the ‘Operation Ganga’ mission, special flights are being operated free of cost. The first such evacuation flight carrying 219 Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine landed in Mumbai on February 26. Several such flights have landed in the country so far.

24×7 control centres have been set up to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals through the border crossing points with Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. A new route has been opened through Moldova and an MEA team is also now in place there and is operational. The team will assist in the evacuation of Indians through Romania.

A dedicated Twitter Account (@opganga) has been set up to assist Operation Ganga. 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 a bid to energize the evacuation efforts, the Government of India appointed four special envoys who will oversee evacuation operations of stranded Indians in Ukraine’s neighbouring countries. Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri will oversee evacuation efforts in Hungary, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju in Slovakia, Gen (retd) VK Singh in Poland while Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will be going to Romania and will also go to Moldova.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held several meetings so far to review the ongoing efforts under Operation Ganga to bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine. He has also said that India will help people from neighbouring countries and developing countries who are stranded in Ukraine and may seek assistance.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla informed on Tuesday that all Indian nationals have left Kyiv and nearly 60 per cent of Indians in Ukraine have left the country so far. He said out of an estimated 20,000 Indian citizens in Ukraine, 60 per cent have left the country since the first advisory was issued by the government.

“Of the remaining 40 per cent, roughly half remain in the conflict zone in Kharkiv and the other half have either reached the western border of Ukraine or are heading towards the western border. They are generally out of conflict areas,” Shringla said.

Briefing the media about the evacuation of Indians including students from Ukraine in the wake of Russian military operations, Shringla informed that over the next three days, 26 flights have been scheduled to bring out Indian citizens. “Apart from Bucharest and Budapest, airports in Poland and the Slovak Republic will also be used,” he said.

An Indian student, Naveen Shekharappa died in Ukraine’s Kharkiv following shelling in the area on Tuesday. He hailed from the Haveri district in Karnataka. PM Modi has spoken to the father of Naveen Shekharappa to express his condolences.

Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia’s military operations in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow. These countries have also promised Ukraine to help with military aid to fight Russia.

The US, Canada and European allies agreed to remove key Russian banks from the interbank messaging system, SWIFT which means Russian banks won’t be able to communicate securely with banks beyond Russia’s borders. President Putin has also signed a decree on special economic measures against the US and its allies.

Fighting in Ukraine has so far pushed more than 500,000 people across the country’s borders, according to the UN refugee agency.

Speaking at an emergency session of the UN General Assembly on February 28, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, had said that Russia has no plans to occupy Ukraine.

On February 28, negotiations between delegations of Russia and Ukraine were held in the Gomel Region of Belarus and another round of talks is scheduled for March 2. (ANI)

NATO allies will double their military presence in Estonia within the next two to three months to ensure “deterrence” on the eastern flank, Estonian Defense Minister Kalle Laanet said on Tuesday.

“Within the next two-three months, NATO allies will double their military presence in Estonia to maintain deterrence on the alliance’s eastern flank,” Laanet told the Estonian parliament in a briefing on the security situation in Ukraine.

The United Kingdom has already made the decision to send about 900 troops to Estonia and the first groups have already arrived, Laanet said.

“France and Denmark will also provide additional contingents of 300 and 250 troops,” he added.

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

In 2016, NATO decided to deploy multinational battalions on a rotational basis to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland at their request. A NATO combat battalion group of about 1,200 troops has been deployed in the Estonian military town of Tapa since April 2017. The NATO International Battalion is led by the United Kingdom, with the participation of military units from France and Denmark on a rotational basis. (ANI/Sputnik)

The Badminton World Federation on Tuesday announced its decision to suspend Russian and Belarusan athletes, officials from participating in any BWF-sanctioned international tournaments until further notice.

“Following consultation with international sport movement partners overnight, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) has updated its position regarding Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine,” BWF in a statement said.

BWF has strengthened its measures against the governments of Russia and Belarus by suspending athletes and officials representing these countries from participating at any BWF-sanctioned international tournaments until further notice.

This is in line with new recommendations from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board released Monday aimed at preserving the integrity of competitions and ensuring the safety of all athletes. It also supports a united and coordinated approach within the sports movement in handing down sanctions against Russia and Belarus.

BWF already moved to cancel all BWF-sanctioned tournaments in Russia and Belarus effective immediately. The enforced non-participation of badminton athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus commences at the German Open 2022 (8-13 March).

A small number of Russian athletes competing in two back-to-back international Para badminton tournaments in Spain in Weeks 9 and 10 of the calendar will be allowed to participate as they have already arrived on location.

This is on the premise that it is not possible on short notice to enforce the suspension of players due to organisational reasons as per the IOC EB’s latest resolution. These players, however, will compete as neutral athletes, with no national flags or anthems.

“BWF remains committed to supporting the people of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian badminton community, as part of the sports movement’s mission to promote peace and solidarity between all people,” BWF in a statement added. (ANI)

The gates of Kedarnath temple will be thrown open for the public on May 6 at 6:25 am.

This announcement was made at Omkareshwar temple, Ukhimath, the winter seat. Meanwhile, Kedarnath doli will leave from Ukhimath for Kedarnath on 2 May.

The doors of Kedarnath situated in the Himalayas, known as the 11 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva, will open for the common devotees. The date of opening of the doors of Badrinath Dham has already been fixed on May 8 on the occasion of Basant Panchami.

On the occasion of Mahashivratri, the date of opening of the doors of Lord Kedarnath was announced in Omkareshwar temple at Ukhimath, the seat of Panch Kedar. Before the opening of the doors, Kedar Baba’s doli will leave for Kedarnath from Omkareshwar temple at Ukhimath.

Earlier in the morning, Rudrabhishek of the Lord was performed in the Omkareshwar temple, the seat of Panch Kedar, after performing special worship of Lord Omkareshwar. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke to the father of Naveen Shekharappa, an Indian student who died in shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine this morning.

One Indian student has lost his life in Kharkiv this morning because of shelling in the area, said MEA in a statement.
Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) Commissioner Dr Manoj Rajan identified the deceased as Naveen Shekharappa from Chalageri village of Haveri district in Karnataka.

Taking to Twitter, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi shared the information and expressed condolences to the family.

“With profound sorrow, we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning. The Ministry is in touch with his family. We convey our deepest condolences to the family,” he wrote in the tweet.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a high-level meeting on Monday evening over the Ukraine crisis said that the entire government machinery is working round the clock to ensure that all Indians there are safe and secure, informed Bagchi. This was the second high-level meeting chaired by the Prime Minister during the day over the prevailing situation in Ukraine.

MEA on Monday said that the ‘Special Envoys’ including Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju, and Gen (Retd) VK Singh will travel to neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate evacuations of stranded Indians amid ongoing Russian military operations.

On February 24, the Prime Minister chaired a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting in New Delhi on the Ukraine crisis.

The union government has launched Operation Ganga to bring back stranded students and Indian citizens from the conflict-torn Ukraine.(ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting to review the efforts to bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine.

The meeting is being attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and senior officials.

The Prime minister had on Monday chaired two meetings to review the ongoing efforts under Operation Ganga for the return of Indians from Ukraine amid military operations by Russia.

Another meeting was held on Sunday. The Cabinet Committee on Security had met on February 24 in the wake of Russian military actions in Ukraine.

The Centre has ramped up efforts to evacuate Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine amid heightened tensions.

The government has also deployed ‘special envoys’ to four neighbouring countries bordering Ukraine to coordinate and oversee the evacuation process of Indian nationals.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri will oversee evacuation efforts in Hungary, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju in Slovakia, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in Romania and Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways and Civil Aviation Gen VK Singh in Poland. (ANI)

Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy RK Singh on Tuesday welcomed Indian students who reached Delhi airport after they were evacuated from conflict-hit Ukraine due to ongoing Russian military operations.

Students were seen joyously waving the national flag as they chanted “Vande Mataram” upon the touchdown in the national capital.

Speaking to ANI, the Union Minister reiterated India’s evacuation mission under ‘Operation Ganga’ and said that the government is “committed to bringing back every Indian stranded there.”

“Four ministers deputed just to organise this. There are help desks of states, help desk of Ministry of Power, officers of the Ministry. Students will be provided whatever assistance they need,” he added.

On returning to the native country, Vindhya Doshi, an Indian student said, “I am very happy and relaxed now because the situation on the borders around Ukraine was terrible. I thank the Government of India and the Indian Embassy who supported the students. We are relaxed now.”

The special flight carrying Indian nationals came from Hungary’s capital city Budapest.

“We are really thankful to the Indian government for evacuating us from Ukraine,” said Samarita Hazarika, another Indian student.

India has been ramping up its efforts to evacuate Indian nationals stuck in Ukraine.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri left for Budapest to aid the evacuation of Indian citizens stranded in war-hit Ukraine. Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju also left for Slovakia on Tuesday.

The government has deployed ‘special envoys’ to four neighbouring countries bordering Ukraine to coordinate and oversee the evacuation process of Indian nationals.

“Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia will be going to Romania, Kiren Rijiju to Slovak Republic, Hardeep Puri to Hungary, VK Singh to Poland… to coordinate and oversee the evacuation process,” the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Monday. (ANI)