Ukrainian forces are keeping a large group of Indian students as “hostages” as human shields, in Kharkiv, the Russian Defence Ministry has alleged, amid an escalating assault on the country on Wednesday.
“According to our information, Ukrainian authorities are forcibly keeping a large group of Indian students in Kharkiv who wish to leave Ukrainian territory and go to Belgorod,” a Russian military spokesperson said at a briefing.
“In fact, they are being held as hostages… Russian armed forces are ready to take all necessary measures for the safe evacuation of the Indian citizens. And send them home from the Russian territory with its own military transport planes or Indian planes, as the Indian side proposed to do,” he added.
The Russian Embassy in India tweeted that Indian students were being taken as Human shields by Ukrainians and said that the onus was now on Kyiv.
Earlier, Prime Minister Modi and his Russian counterpart President Putin spoke on the phone on the Ukraine situation and the safe passage of Indian students stuck in Ukraine