'Not Received Any Reports': MEA On Claims Of Indian Students Being Held Hostage In Ukraine

The MEA said that Indian Embassy in Ukraine is in continuous touch with Indian nationals in Ukraine and there are no inputs of a hostage situation.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar (File Photo)

New Delhi: Ministry of External Affairs has responded to reports and Russia's claims of Indians being held hostage by the Ukrainian Military in Delhi. The Ministry said that they have not received any input on a hostage situation for any Indian student in Ukraine.

The MEA said, "Our Embassy in Ukraine is in continuous touch with Indian nationals in Ukraine. We note that with the cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities, many students have left Kharkiv yesterday. We have not received any reports of any hostage situation regarding any student".

MEA's official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "We have been coordinating effectively with the countries in the region including Russia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Moldova. A large number of Indian nationals have been evacuated from Ukraine in the last few days. We appreciate the help extended by the Ukrainian authorities to make this possible. We thank Ukraine’s western neighbours in receiving Indian nationals and for accommodating them while they waited for flights to take them back home.”

Earlier, the Russian Embassy in India said that Ukrainian security forces in Kharkov are using Indian students as human shields and allowing them passage only through the Ukrainian-Polish border, where hostilities are taking place.

Taking to Twitter the Russain Embassy in India wrote, " According to our information, Ukrainian authorities forcibly keep a large group of Indian students in Kharkov who wish to leave Ukrainian territory and go to Belgorod."

However, Ukraine denied the allegations and blamed Russia for taking students from India, Pakistan, China and other countries as hostages. It also urged Moscow to allow Humanitarian corridor to other Ukrainian cities.