Indian students in Ukraine's Sumy say evacuation has again been postponed

Sumy: A humanitarian corridor between three of Ukraine's cities and Russia and Belarus is being vetoed by Ukraine, which calls it an "unethical stunt". About 700 Indian students are fleeing Ukrainian Sumy again.

Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Sumy were to be the starting points for the opening of the "corridors."

According to the department of foreign affairs, ongoing shelling, violence, and the lack of transportation have caused the students to wait since Saturday for evacuation.

Indian embassy officials have been on standby in Poltava, about three hours from Sumy, to ensure the safety of the students.

The students shared videos on Saturday about their decision to journey to the Russian border, 50 kilometers away, unable to cope with the bitter cold, depleting food and water supplies.

But they were dissuaded by the government, which contacted them and asked that they "avoid unnecessary risks".

Russia's evacuation plan, as shown on maps published by RIA News, envisions the establishment of a corridor from Kyiv to Belarus and only the transit of civilians from Kharkiv to Russia.

According to Volodymyr Zelensky's spokesperson, the move was "completely immoral" and Russia was using the suffering of the people to make its television images.

News agency Reuters quoted the spokesperson as saying, "They're citizens of Ukraine, so they have a right to evacuate to Ukraine."

He continued, "This is one of the reasons why the humanitarian corridors are failing. They seem to be in agreement with them, but they want the corridors to lead in their direction, and they want humanitarian aid to get a picture on TV."

Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with President Putin of the Russian Federation and president Zelensky of the Ukrainian Republic. In the phone call with President Putin, PM Modi stressed the significance of safe evacuation of Indian citizens from Sumy as soon as possible.

Modi earlier called Ukrainian President Zelensky and thanked him for helping Indians reach Ukraine and asked for assistance as we evacuate Indians from Sumy.

In addition to the ongoing negotiations between their teams, PM Modi encouraged President Putin to have direct discussions with President Zelensky.