Evacuation Plan ‘Did Not Materialise’: India Demands Safe Corridor at UNSC

India's United Nations (UN) Ambassador TS Tirumurti said India is "deeply concerned that despite our repeated urgings" to both Russia and Ukraine, the "safe corridor for our students stranded in Sumy did not materialise."

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

With several hundred Indian students stranded in Ukraine's eastern city of Sumy, India's United Nations (UN) Ambassador TS Tirumurti reiterated on Monday, 7 March, the demand for the safe and uninterrupted passage for all civilians.

The safe corridor for Indian students stranded in Sumy could not materialise, Tirumurti said, while expressing India's condolences for not just the two Indians who had died but also for every civilian who had lost their lives in the conflict.

He said that India is "deeply concerned that despite our repeated urgings" to both Russia and Ukraine, the "safe corridor for our students stranded in Sumy did not materialise."

The evacuation could not materialise as Ukraine rejected Russia's proposal for a humanitarian corridor, for the routes supposedly led to Russia and Belarus. With this rejection, Russia continued its attack in violation of the ceasefire.

This came on the same day that Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone, urging the safe evacuation of Indian students stuck in Sumy.

According to a Kremlin statement, Putin stated that Indian students were held by radicals in Kharkiv and only managed to leave the city after strong international pressure on the Kyiv authorities.

Earlier on Monday, Modi also spoke to Zelenskyy, where he thanked him for the help extended by Ukraine in the evacuation of Indian nationals.

Later, Zelenskyy tweeted about the same and said, "Informed Indian PM Modi about Ukraine countering Russian aggression. India appreciates the assistance to its citizens during the war and Ukraine's commitment to direct peaceful dialogue at the highest level. Grateful for the support to the Ukrainian people."

Meanwhile, Indian students were asked by authorities to rush back to their bunkers as shelling resumed on Monday. The buses left without them.