KUALA LUMPUR – Following the death of an Indian national in Kharkiv due to shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city yesterday, the country’s Foreign Affairs Ministry reiterated that there is no discrimination based on race or nationality, including when it comes to the crossing of the state border by foreign citizens.
Given the extreme security conditions, the ministry said the first-come-first-served approach applies to all nationalities, with certain humanitarian exceptions allowed for women and children.
“We are working closely with the relevant agencies of Ukraine to step up support to foreign citizens, including students, wishing to return to their home countries or move to third countries due to the Russian military invasion,” it said in a statement.
The ministry also expressed sincere condolences, saying it deeply regretted that a student from India has fallen victim to shelling by Russian armed forces in Kharkiv.
“We express our sincere condolences to the families who lost their loved ones because of the devastating war President Putin has unleashed against the Ukrainian people.
“The ministry offers its deepest sympathies to the government of India and the relatives of the deceased. We stand ready to provide the Indian embassy the required assistance in order to repatriate the body of an Indian citizen.”
In a report by the BBC, the Indian medical student was killed after he left the bunker he had been sheltering in to buy food.
According to the deceased’s friend, Naveen S. Gyanagoudar, 22, left the shelter early in the morning, right after a curfew ended, to go to a nearby supermarket.
Thousands of Indian citizens are still in Ukraine and are pleading to be evacuated.
India has launched an operation to bring its citizens home but has been facing logistical hurdles, BBC reported.
Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry strongly condemned the “barbaric” missile attacks and “indiscriminate” shelling by the Russians of residential areas and civilian infrastructure across Ukrainian cities.
It noted that a Chinese citizen was also injured in another city because of Russia’s deadly attacks, and that local and foreign citizens have become hostages of the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine.
It called on all foreign governments to demand that Russian President Vladimir Putin stop the war in Ukraine.
“This will allow us to stabilise the situation and focus more on the safety and security of the population, including foreign students.” – The Vibes, March 2, 2022
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