Summary:
New Delhi, Feb 24 (PTI) India is looking at ways to assist its nationals, especially students, in Ukraine amid fears of a larger conflict after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation against the eastern European country.Official sources said India is closely monitoring the "rapidly changing" situation in Ukraine and how to assist the Indians in that country."We are closely monitoring the rapidly changing situation.
Focus is on safety and security of Indians, particularly students," said a source.It said the control room set by the Ministry of External Affairs a few days back is being expanded and made operational on a 24x7 basis.There is no possibility of sending a special aircraft to Ukraine to evacuate the Indians including the Indian embassy staff as the airspace of Ukraine has been closed.Ukraine closed its airspace to civilian flights in view of high risk to safety."The government is looking at ways to extend assistance to Indians there," said a source.As per estimates, over 15,000 Indians are currently staying in Ukraine.It is learnt that a series of meetings are underway to asses the situation and ways to extend assistance to Indians in that country.The situation in Ukraine deteriorated after President Putin announced a military operation against Ukraine, triggering serious concerns over the possibility of a full-scale military confrontation between the two countries.Following Putin"s announcement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said an "invasion" could be the beginning of a "big war" in Europe.
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