Indian officials advised their citizens, in particular students, to leave temporarily in the midst of the crisis on the 15th of February. Furthermore, it has also asked its citizens to avoid ‘non-essential’ travel to or within the country.
The first advisory issued by Indian embassy by the Kyiv mentioned, “Indian nationals are requested to keep the Embassy informed about the status of their presence in Ukraine to enable the Embassy to reach them where required. The Embassy continues to function normally to provide all services to Indian nationals in Ukraine.” The statement unfolds the constant fear of war as diplomatic efforts fail to ease the tension.
A few days ago, several countries such as the US and UK urged their citizens to leave and have scaled down their diplomatic missions for the time being. They have alleged that thousands of Russian troops are stationed at the border of Ukraine with the potential to invade the country.
However, Russia has strongly denied that it has any intention of invading Ukraine. Additionally, Russia has indicated that it has deliberated to continue diplomatic talks.
Furthermore, in response to the recent advisory from Indian Embassy in Kyiv, an Indian student has requested “to make special flights arrangements”, as there are no flights to India in the next two days.
India’s stance
So far, India has preferred to take a back seat and remained out of the conflict. Even the Indian external affairs minister Dr. S Jaishankar, remained silent when he was asked about New Delhi’s stance on Ukraine, at the Quad meeting.