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Damaged local city hall of Kharkiv on March 1, 2022, destroyed by heavy shelling.
Kharkiv, Ukraine, an Indian student died in shelling
On Tuesday, an Indian student was slain in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which is being shelled heavily by Russian forces.
The student’s family has been contacted by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). “We confirm with great sadness that an Indian student was killed in shelling in Kharkiv this morning.” His family has been contacted by the Ministry. Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for the MEA, expressed his sympathy to the family.
Bagchi went on to say that India’s foreign secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, is speaking with Russian and Ukrainian diplomats to reinforce India’s demand for immediate safe passage for its citizens trapped in Kharkiv and other crisis zones. “Our Ambassadors in Russia and Ukraine are also taking similar action,” he continued in the tweet.
The news of the student’s murder arrived about an hour after the Indian embassy in Ukraine issued an urgent warning to its citizens to leave Kyiv. “All Indian nationals in Kyiv, including students, are advised to leave Kyiv immediately today.” “Preferably by existing trains or any other options that are available (sic),” the embassy said in a statement.
The Indian government has launched a huge campaign to return its stranded people back from war-torn Ukraine via neighbouring countries, and has dispatched senior ministers to help in the evacuation. Even as special aircraft of Air India are being flown to bring civilians back, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ordered the Indian Air Force to join the evacuation efforts under Operation Ganga.
Russian troops are attempting to encircle Kyiv and Kharkiv, according to a Ukrainian presidential advisor. There were reports of a 40-mile convoy of tanks and other vehicles menacing Kiev, tactics that Ukraine’s embattled president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, claimed were aimed at forcing him to make concessions in Europe’s largest land war in centuries.
According to an Associated Press storey, there were numerous explosions in one of Kharkiv’s residential neighbourhoods, which is close to the Russian border.
Russian shelling also hit the regional administration headquarters in the city centre, according to regional administration chief Oleh Sinehubov.
The building’s front and inside were seriously damaged by a massive explosion that also blew out part of its roof, according to images uploaded online. Six people were injured in the incident, according to the state emergency department.
During Monday’s shelling of the city, at least 11 people were murdered and scores more were injured, according to Sinehubov.
Despite substantial evidence of shelling of houses, schools, and hospitals witnessed by AP correspondents across Ukraine, the Russian military has denied targeting residential areas.