India, which has been strongly pressing both the Russian and the Ukrainian sides to allow a local ceasefire just to get a safe corridor to bring its students out of the region – has expressed its anguish at the current imbroglio in the conflict zone.
India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador T S Tirumurti has yet again called for an immediate end to all hostilities and reiterated New Delhi's urgent demand for safe and uninterrupted passage for all innocent civilians, including Indian nationals in Ukraine.
"We are deeply concerned that despite our urgings to both sides, safe corridor for our students stranded in Sumy did not materialise," Tirumurti told a UN Security Council briefing in New York, earlier today.
As reported by IndiaNarrative.com, a team from the Indian embassy in Ukraine is currently stationed in Poltava to coordinate the safe passage of Indian students, believed to be anywhere between 700 to 1000 in numbers, stranded in Sumy to Western borders.
Noting that India has brought out more than 20,000 of its citizens and people of other nationalities out of the conflict area, Tirumurti added that New Delhi has also sent seven tranches of humanitarian supplies to Ukraine and neighbouring countries containing medicine, medical equipment, tents, water storage tanks, sleeping mats, blankets and other critical items.
Against that backdrop, he emphasised that humanitarian action must always be guided by the principles of humanitarian assistance, namely humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.
"These should not be politicized," Tirumurti stressed.
📺Watch: Permanent Representative @AmbTSTirumurti speak at the #UNSC Briefing on the Humanitarian Situation in #Ukraine ⤵️@MEAIndia @IndiainUkraine @IndEmbMoscow pic.twitter.com/oXoRsNGS9x
— India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) March 7, 2022
Meanwhile, Russia has once again announced declaration of a ceasefire from 12.30 IST today to conduct a humanitarian operation, saying it is ready to provide humanitarian corridors, including from the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy where a large number of Indian students are still stuck.
The Vladimir Putin government said that the decision to announce a ceasefire, which comes into effect from 10 a.m. Moscow time was taken after persistent continuous appeals of foreign embassies and "as well as direct requests from Ukrainian citizens" for evacuation from almost all settlements where the situation is rapidly deteriorating and has acquired the character of a "humanitarian catastrophe".
However, Moscow said that its effectiveness "depends only on the Ukrainian side".
"The key issues of preparing a humanitarian operation and ensuring the safety of the civilian population, as well as foreign citizens during their evacuation from settlements, where nationalists controlled by Kiev are taking all measures to prevent people leaving, are completely within the competence of the Kiev authorities," said the Russian embassy in Delhi in a statement.
The planned routes for the evacuation of foreign citizens and civilians are the same which were announced by Russia on Monday:
– from Kiev and adjacent settlements to Russia through the territory of the Belarus to Gomel city
– from Chernigov through the territory of Belarus to Gomel
– from Sumy by two routes to Poltava and to the territory of Russia to Belgorod
– from Kharkov to the territory of Russia to Belgorod
– from Mariupol by two routes to the territory of the Russia to Rostov-on-Don through Novoazovsk and Taganrog cities, to Zaporozhye – in agreement with the Ukrainian side
Kiev had on Monday accused Moscow of violating the ceasefire agreements, saying that Russia "yet again
sabotaged" the opening of the humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of the civil population from the besieged cities of the Kiev, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kherson regions.
Ukraine said that the Russian armed forces continued bombardments and missile attacks on Kiev, Mariupol, Volnovakha, Sumy, Mykolayiv, Kharkiv and other cities, towns and villages which prevented the safe exit of humanitarian convoys carrying Ukrainian and foreign citizens, as well as the delivery of medications and food.
"We also consider as inappropriate any attempts by Moscow to force civilians in the besieged cities to flee to the territory of Russia and Belarus, taking into account high probability of provocations, in particular taking those evacuated as hostages or using them by the Russian armed forces as human shields," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said in a statement.
Moscow instead said that it was due to the "irresponsible attitude of the Ukrainian side to the life and health of ordinary civilians, including foreigners" that the situation is rapidly deteriorating.
"At the same time, the Russian Federation provided full preparation and security on the planned routes during the previously announced humanitarian operations to evacuate civilians and foreign citizens," said the Russian Embassy in Delhi.
Also Read: Russia doing its best to evacuate Indian citizens from Sumy, Putin assures PM Modi
