Will Kharkiv fall? Indian embassy advises nationals to evacuate immediately

An urgent advisory from the Indian embassy in Ukraine has urged nationals to leave Kharkiv immediately, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues.   

The tweet says this move is for their safety and security. It instructs them to proceed to Pesochin, Babaye and Bezlyudovka
as soon as possible. Further, the note strictly says that under all circumstances, Indians must reach these settlements by 1800 hours, Ukrainian time. 

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The call to move comes amid heavy shelling in Ukraine’s second-largest city. On Tuesday, an Indian from Karnataka, studying MBBS in Kharkiv died of shelling. While Indians have been advised to stay in safe areas and await evacuation plans, many have reported that the situation isn’t too good for those hiding away in bunkers. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed the nation’s focus is on the safety and swift evacuation of all Indians in Ukraine. To that end, he has spoken to both presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin of Ukraine and Russia, respectively to take stock of the situation. 

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Further, evacuation flights by the now-Tata owned Air India began bringing back nationals, even as India sent ministers as special envoys to countries surrounding Ukraine, to facilitate a smoother evacuation process. At present, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has taken over this task. 

As per CNN, of the 20,000 Indians in Ukraine, 12,000 have already been evacuated. Among the remaining, 4,000 of them are in the conflict areas of Kharkiv and Sumy regions, while the remainder is safely out of harm’s way, India’s foreign secretary Harsh Shringla said. 

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Amid the tense situation in Ukraine, with Russian troops gathering at the capital’s border India has, for now, shifted its embassy from Kyiv to Lviv, the western city. Its proximity to the western border is expected to help make the evacuation process faster through the neighbouring countries since flights cannot risk Ukrainian airspace while the conflict continues.