Masterplan of Ukraine to make Indian students as hostage to get India on its side?

Nobody is willing to get stuck in a war-torn country and risk their lives. Then why the Indian students did not paid attention to the Indian government"s advisory. Let"s understand why they decided to stay back in Ukraine.

NewsBharati    02-Mar-2022 16:36:36 PM   
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On Tuesday, the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war claimed the first Indian national student's life. A 4th-year medical student, Naveen, was killed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv when he was out of the shelter to purchase some food and other essential things from a nearby supermarket. He was studying medicine at the Kharkiv National Medical University in Kharkiv. Naveen was a native of Chalageri in the Haveri district. This incident came just hours after the Indian embassy in Ukraine advised Indian nationals and students to leave Kyiv "urgently, preferably by available trains or through any means available."
 
Ukraine-India
 
Notably, Kharkiv is the second-largest city in Ukraine and is being pounded by heavy shelling by Russian forces. As per the media reports, a total of thousands of students have been hiding in bunkers, basements, apartments, and underground metro stations to save their lives from shelling that is taking place in the eastern part of Ukraine. Most Indians living in Kharkiv are finding it difficult to travel to the western side of the country, due to the intense fighting between the Russians and Ukrainians.
 
 
 
Apart from Kharkiv, nearly sixteen thousand Indians, including students who had gone there to do their six-year MBBS course, have now been stuck in the war-torn country. Despite the Indian embassy's advisory, these students couldn’t return to India before February 24, when Russia announced its military offensive against Ukraine. Nobody is willing to get stuck in a war-torn country and risk their lives. Then why the Indian students did not paid attention to the Indian government's advisory. Let's understand why they decided to stay back in Ukraine. 
 
For those who aren't aware of the issue, since the middle of February, when the escalation between Ukraine and Russia started to worsen, the Indian government and Indian embassy issued an advisory and asked its citizens studying in educational institutions in Ukraine to leave the country temporarily in view of the "continued high level of tension and uncertainties."
 
The Indian Embassy’s February 15 advisory, posted on its Twitter handle, read, "In view of the uncertainties of the current situation in Ukraine, Indian nationals in Ukraine, particularly students whose stay is not essential, may consider leaving temporarily. Indian Nationals are also advised to avoid all non-essential travel to and within Ukraine."
 
However, when students tried to leave the country, Ukrainian universities didn’t allow them to take online classes. Even knowing the ground situation that Russia could launch an attack on any day in the coming weeks, universities insisted students take offline classes and remain present on the college campus. They made offline attendance compulsory. They even warned students that if they returned to their home countries and didn’t come back within 15 days, their admissions would be terminated.
 
As per some students, Ukrainian universities even assured them that escalation with Russia was going to be resolved soon. Even at that time, universities also refused to postpone the examination schedules and asked them to prepare for the exams. However, if universities would have been more concerned about the safety of students, then maybe the situation would have been different from today. Why, even knowing the ground reality, universities don't consider students' safety first?
 
By connecting the dots, we might get answers. Last week, as soon as India abstained from voting on a UN Security Council resolution against the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Nations tried to put pressure on India by using Indian students as hostages. The Ukrainian Ambassador at the UNSC said, "It is exactly the safety of your nationals in Ukraine that you should be the first to vote to stop the war to save your nationals in Ukraine, and not to think that you should vote or not vote."
 
 
 
Even at the time of the war, when the situation is still sensitive, the Ukrainian government and its security personnel allegedly beat the unarmed Indian students who were fleeing the war zone, to pressurise the Modi government. Many of these students, who were stuck for over 72 hours in cold conditions, alleged that they were kicked, beaten up, dragged, and some even had their phones snatched from them.
 
 
 
Indian and African students who are attempting to leave the country are also experiencing racist treatment from Ukrainian security forces and border officials. Videos of various such incidents is making the rounds on the social media platform. Ukrainian officials appear to be putting innocent students in a hostage situation.
 
 
 
 
 
In this difficult situation, the Indian government is going above and beyond to assist Indian students. After reports of such an incident, the Modi government has sent four cabinet ministers to neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate the evacuation mission and help students. Till now, over 6,000 have been brought back to the country so far under Operation Ganga, and the Centre is making all efforts to make sure each and every Indian come back home. Praying for their safe route back!
Ukraine India Russia-Ukraine war War Ukraine conflict India Indian students UN Russia Modi government Operation Ganga
Shivani Shinde

Shivani Shinde

Shivani Shinde has completed her graduation in Journalism and Mass Communication and is pursuing her Masters further. She keeps interest in writing on Science and Technology and Entertainment.