New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday 'strongly urged' Indians, especially students, to leave Ukraine's strife-torn Donetsk and Lugansk regions in view of the deteriorating security situation there.
MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin tweeted that Indian students stationed in Donetsk and Lugansk regions were strongly urged to leave at once. “Advisory. In view of deteriorating security situation Indians are strongly urged to leave Donetsk and Lugansk at once”, he tweeted.
Advisory. In view of deteriorating security situation Indians are strongly urged to leave Donetsk and Lugansk at once.
— Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia) January 23, 2015
The MEA was prepared to assist Indians in the area as the security situation could deteriorate further. He further tweeted, “Indian nationals, especially students,in Lugansk & Donetsk can contact India's Embassy in Ukraine for assistance. http://mymea.in/1br”
Indian nationals, especially students,in Lugansk & Donetsk can contact India's Embassy in Ukraine for assistance. http://t.co/ABwA4Tb2hP
— Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia) January 23, 2015
A release by the MEA also shared the numbers that Indians could reach out to in case of an emergency. The advisory read —
“Advisory for Indian Nationals in Ukraine particularly Indian Students in Donetsk and Lugansk regions to leave immediately
The Indian Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, had evacuated Indian nationals from Donetsk and Lugansk regions in the eastern Ukraine in June 2014. The Embassy has since issued regular advisories to advise Indian nationals, especially students, against returning to the region in view of continued hostilities. Despite these advisories, our Embassy had learnt that a handful of students had rejoined their educational institutions in Donetsk and Lugansk regions and had urged them directly whenever possible and through urgent advisories posted on the Mission’s website to leave these regions immediately.
As has been widely reported in the media, there has been an intensification of shelling and fighting in Donetsk and Lugansk regions over the past few days. In view of the deteriorating security situation Indian nationals, especially students, are strongly urged to leave Donetsk and Lugansk at once.
Indian nationals are also strongly advised against travelling to these areas.
In case of an Emergency, Embassy of India, Kyiv (www.embassyofindiaukraine.in) can be contacted at any time at: Email: eoikmail@gmail.com (Please start SUBJECT of email with the word emergency in block letters and bold i.e. EMERGENCY, followed by subject matter) and on telephone:
Tel:+380-44-4687023, Mobile:+380-933559957 [Education related queries]
Tel:+380-44-4686670, Mobile: +380-933559958 [Consular related queries]
Tel:+380-44-4686219,4686661 & Mobile:+380-930913855 [Other queries]”
Donetsk has been in the eye of the storm as Ukrainian forces battle Russian-backed rebels for the control of Donetsk international airport.
Reports on Thursday stated that an upsurge in clashes have killed nearly 50 people and punctured Europe`s latest push for peace in the nine-month war.
Rebels captured about 20 soldiers in the last hours of battle on Thursday and paraded them around in front of jeering locals who pelted the handcuffed men with snowballs and glass.
Kiev and rebel authorities said attacks across the separatist regions of Donetsk and Lugansk on Thursday killed 10 soldiers and some 35 civilians in addition to those who died in the bus attack.
The OSCE said on Thursday that the recent escalation had pushed the war`s confirmed death toll to more than 5,000. The European security body said another 10,000 people have been wounded and one million more forced to flee their homes.Thursday`s violence came hours after the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine met their counterparts from Germany in France for talks designed to salvage the September ceasefire and weapons withdrawal agreements.
(With Agency Inputs)
