An Indian student, Naveen SG from Karnataka was killed in shelling in Kharkiv city of war-hit Ukraine on Tuesday morning, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
“With profound sorrow we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning,” it tweeted.
The ministry said it is in touch with the family of the student.
“We convey our deepest condolences to the family,” it said. Naveen Shekharappa was standing outside a grocery store when he was hit.
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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a high-level meeting on Monday evening over the Ukraine crisis said that the entire government machinery is working round the clock to ensure that all Indians there are safe and secure, informed Bagchi. This was the second high-level meeting chaired by the Prime Minister during the day over the prevailing situation in Ukraine.
Government sources on Monday said that the ‘Special Envoys’ including Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju, and Gen (Retd) VK Singh will travel to neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate evacuations of stranded Indians amid ongoing Russian military operations.
Pooja Praharaj, a student coordinator in Kharkiv, spoke to NDTV shortly after the student’s death.
“He lived near the Governor’s House and had been standing in the queue for food. Suddenly there was an air strike that blew up the Governor’s House and he was killed,” Ms Praharaj said.
A Ukrainian woman picked up his phone, said the student coordinator. “Speaking from his phone, she said the owner of this phone is being taken to the morgue,” she shared.
This morning, the Indian Embassy advised all citizens, including students, to leave Ukraine capital Kyiv “urgently today, by trains or any other means available”.
“The deteriorating situation in Kharkiv is a matter of grave concern. The safety and security of Indian nationals in that city is of utmost priority to Government,” government sources said.
Around 16,000 Indian students are still stranded in Ukraine. Many students have shared photos and videos on social media from underground bunkers, metro stations and bomb shelters, where they have been hiding since the Russian attack started last Thursday. Around 9,000 Indian nationals have left by various special flights.