Russia claims Indian students are being held as hostages by Ukraine

New Delhi: As India steps up its efforts to evacuate its citizens stranded in war-torn Ukraine, the Russin Defence Ministry has alleged that Ukrainian forces are keeping a large group of Indian students as "hostages" in Kharkiv.

In a statement by the ministry's official representative, Major General Igor Konashenkov said: "According to our data, in Kharkiv, the Ukrainian authorities are forcibly detaining a large group of Indian students who want to leave the Ukrainian territory and go to Belgorod."

He also remarked that the Russian armed forces are ready to take all necessary measures for the safe evacuation of the Indian citizens.

"We are ready to send them home from the Russian territory with its military transport planes or Indian planes, as the Indian side proposed to do," he added.

Meanwhile, the US Department of State on Wednesday (local time) said that they have not seen any verified report of Ukraine using Indian students as human shields. These activities are commonly used in Russian disinformation, it said.

The startling claim by the Russians came not long after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed the situation in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, where over a thousand Indian students were said to be stranded.

Kharkiv is virtually under Russian control and the girl students have already been sent on their way to Ukraine's western border by train -- a 20-hour journey -- with the help of Russians, government sources told NDTV.

Efforts are on to evacuate the boys also, sources said shortly before the 6 pm deadline was about to expire.

Earlier in the day, first-hand accounts of students stranded at the railway station gave a glimpse into their desperate situation as the Indian government issued an urgent all-caps appeal to its citizens to immediately leave Ukraine's second-largest city.

Students complained of being kicked, intimidated and not being let on trains leaving the city, prompting many to start walking towards one of the three locations specified by the Indian government between 11 and 16 km away.

Located in the eastern part of the city close to the Russian border, Kharkiv has been facing intense attacks since the invasion started and they have intensified over the past two days. At least two Indian students have died since the conflict began - one in Russian shelling and another in a hospital while being treated for an illness.