Ukraine crisis: Modi speaks to Russian president, discusses evacuation of Indian students

11 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation in Ukraine, reports ANI. Both the leaders discussed safe evacuation of Indian students from Kharkiv city in Ukraine.

10.45 pm: India abstains from voting on a United Nations Security Council resolution that deplored Russia’s “aggression” against Ukraine, reports ANI.

However, 141 countries voted in favour of the motion and it was approved by the United Nations General Assembly. Five countries voted against and 35 abstained.

10.15 pm: Ukraine’s envoy to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsy, compares the Russian President Vladimir Putin with Hitler, reports The Guardian. At the United Nations, he says Russia’s attack is aimed “to deprive Ukraine of the very right to exist”.

9.32 pm: China’s banking regulator says he will not impose sanctions on Russia for attacking Ukraine as he believes it “do not work well”, reports Reuters.

9.01 pm: British defence ministry says that while Russian forces have moved into souther Ukrainian city of Kherson, overall gains have been “limited” due to logistical problems and “strong” Ukrainian resistance.

In its intelligence update, the ministry says heavy artillery and airstrikes have continued to hit built-up areas, focused in the cities of Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mariupol and Chernihiv, in the past 24 hours.

It adds that 6.60 lakh Ukrainian civilians have been displaced in their attempt to flee the invasion.

8.57 pm: European Union sanctions 22 Belarus military officials, reports AFP.

8.52 pm: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeks Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention with Russia to create a “humanitarian corridor” for Indian students to leave Ukraine.

8.47 pm: Russian and Ukrainian officials say they are standing by to resume peace talks but the time and place for negotiations remained unknown, reports The Associated Press.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says the Russian will be ready to await Ukrainian negotiators.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also says the officials are ready for talks but the venue is undecided and Kyiv won’t accept any Russian ultimatums.

8.45 pm: The European Union bans seven Russian banks from the from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or Swift, a global interbank payments system, reports The Associated Press.

It has, however, left out two Russian financial institutions as they are key to transactions for EU energy imports, according to the news agency.

8.28 pm: English Premier League club Everton says it has suspended all commercial sponsorship arrangements with theree Russian companies – USM, Megafon and Yota.

“Everyone at Everton remains shocked and saddened by the appalling events unfolding in Ukraine,” the club says in a statement. “This tragic situation must end as soon as possible, and any further loss of life must be avoided.”

8.22 pm: The Russian Army claims that it has taken control of Kherson, a Ukrainian city located in the southern region of the country, reports The Guardian.

However, Kherson mayor Igor Kolykhaiev says the city was still under Ukraine’s control.

“We are still Ukraine. Still firm,” he says.

8.18 pm: Over 600 Indian students are stranded in a university located in Sumy, a city in north-eastern Ukraine, reports PTI, citing one of the students.

Viraj Walde told PTI that the students were hoping they would soon be evacuated as “continuous firing and bombing” by the Russian forces has left them completely terrified.

He adds that not even a single Indian student from Sumy State University has been evacuated so far.

7.41 pm: An evacuation flight from Hungary’s capital, Budapest, carrying Indian citizens who stranded in Ukraine arrives at the Delhi airport, reports ANI.

7.34 pm: The United Nations Human Rights Council says that over 8,74,000 people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion last week, reports The Associated Press. The agency says the figure was “rising exponentially” and can cross the 1-million mark possibly within hours.

7.27 pm: The International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi says that Russia has informed the organisation that Moscow has taken control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.

In a statement, the organisation says Russia told it that the personnel at the plant continued their “work on providing nuclear safety and monitoring radiation in normal mode of operation” and the the radiation levels were normal.

The Zaporizhzhia plant is the largest of nuclear power plant in Ukraine with six out of the country’s 15 nuclear energy reactors.

7.25 pm: Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says his country will accept refugees from Ukraine, reports The Associated Press.

“We plan to start first with those with family and friends in Japan, but we will not stop there and will respond from a humanitarian viewpoint,” Kishida says.

7.18 pm: Bagchi says that six evacuation flights have landed in India in the last 24 hours, reports ANI. He says 15 fights have so far landed in India and 3,352 Indians stranded in Ukraine have returned.

“As many as 15 flights are scheduled over the next 24 hours,” he adds. “Some of these are already actually enroute.”

7.14 pm: Union Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi confirms that another Indian student has died in Ukraine. Bagchi, however, clarifies that the student, Chandal Jindal, died on natural causes and his family is in Ukraine.

7.12 pm: Union Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi estimates that about 17,000 Indian citizens have left Ukraine since advisories were issued in January last week.

7.06 pm: The Ukrainian foreign minister says that the country does not disrciminate on the basis of race, skin colour or nationality, including when foreign citizens are crossing the state border.

“The first come first served approach applies to all nationalities,” it says.

The ministry adds that Ukrainian border guards along with officails of neighboring European Union countries and Moldova were “doing everything possible to speed up the passage of all citizens from Ukraine and have never created obstacles that would hinder this”.

Several Indian students have alleged they are being prevented from crossing into neighbouring countries from Ukraine.

7.03 pm: National security analyst Nitin Gokhale says that Russians apparently agreed to a six-hour window for allowing safe passage to Indians in Kharkiv before beignning an an all-out assault.

“The Russian safe passage offer came after India’s urgent request,” he tweets. “The Russians do not want to delay the capture of Kharkiv beyond a point.”

7 pm: The Ministry of External Affairs says that the time and location to evacuate Indian citizens was based on the information from Russia.

“We have issued this advisory based on inputs from Russian side,” says the spokesperson. “We haven’t chosen the time. We haven’t chosen the location.”

6.28 pm: The Indian Embassy in Ukraine advises citizens in Kharkiv, who cannot find vehicles, to proceed on foot towards Pesochyn, Babai and Bezlyudivka for evacuation.

The embassy says that citizens should leave the city for their own safety in view of “deteriorating situation.”

6 pm: The second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia is likely to take place later today, The Guardian reports, citing Russian state news agency Tass.

“In the second half of the day, closer to evening, our delegation will be in place to await Ukrainian negotiators,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says.

5.35 pm: An Indian student has died in Ukraine’s Vinnytsia city due to an illness amidst the ongoing invasion by Russian forces. The student has been identified as Chandal Jindal. He was a fourth-year student at Vinnytsia Medical University.

5.20 pm: Map shows sites of shelling, explosions and bombings since February 24 in Kharkiv. At least 21 people have died and over 100 injured in shelling by Russian forces in the city in the last 24 hours, according to Reuters.

5.00 pm: The Indian Embassy in Ukraine is asking citizens stranded in Kharkiv to leave the city immediately.

“Proceed to Pesochin, Babaye and Bezlyudovka as soon as possible,” the recent advisory says. “Under all circumstances, they must reach these settlements by 1800 hrs [Ukrainian time] today.”

4. 55 pm: Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia interacts with Indian students at the Henri Coanda International Airport in Bucharest. He is in Romania to oversee the evacuation of Indians stranded in Ukraine.

4.45 pm: Russia says it has control of the area around the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia city, The Associated Press reports.

Zaporizhzhia is the largest of Ukraine’s nuclear sites, with six out of the country’s 15 reactors.

4.30 pm: Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is calling on Russians to stage daily protests against Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, reports Reuters.

“Alexei Navalny has called for people to go out,” Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh says. “Protest against the war every day at 19:00 and on weekends at 14:00. The main squares of your towns, wherever you are.”

4.15 pm: As many as 8,36,000 people have fled Ukraine since the Russian military invasion on February 24, Agence France-Presse reports, citing the United Nations.

4 pm: An Indian doctor in Ukraine says he is still stranded in Kyiv and that the Indian government’s claim that all its citizens were evacuated from the capital city was a lie, reports NDTV.

“I am very disappointed by the services of our embassy, our system. No help has reached me till now,” Dr Raj Kumar Santlani tells NDTV. “... When I saw a tweet by a minister yesterday that all Indians have been evacuated, it is a lie”.

Earlier today, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that all Indian citizens have left Kyiv.

3.50 pm: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that if World War III was to take place, it would involve nuclear weapons, reports Reuters, citing Russian agency RIA. He says Ukraine will face “real danger” if the country acquires nuclear weapons.

3.40 pm: Russia says it is ready to hold the second round of peace talks with Ukraine, reports The Guardian. The first round was held on Monday and lasted for over 5 hours.

3.20 pm: Russia’s Ambassador-designate to India Denis Alipov says that Moscow is working towards making a “humanitarian corridor” for safe passage of Indians from Ukraine through Russian territory, reports PTI.

“We are working intensely on creating the corridor and secure safe passage for Indians stuck in various conflict zones in Ukraine,” Alipov says.

3 pm: China says one of its citizens was shot at while being evacuated from Ukraine, The Associated Press reports.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin says the person was injured but is out of danger.

1.50 pm: Russian authorities are in touch with India with respect to Indian citizens stranded in Kharkiv and other cities of eastern Ukraine, Russia’s Ambassador-designate to India Denis Alipov says, according to ANI.

“We are strategic allies with India,” Alipov says. “We are grateful to India for its balanced position displayed at the UN. India understands the depth of this crisis.”

On February 27, India abstained from voting on a United Nations Security Council resolution on holding a special emergency session of the body’s General Assembly to discuss Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

On February 25, India also abstained from a resolution in the Security Council that deplored Russia’s “aggression” against Ukraine.

1.40 pm: A total of 17 people from Jammu and Kashmir who were stranded in Ukraine land at the Delhi airport. They will stay the night at the Jammu and Kashmir House in New Delhi, and will leave for home tomorrow.

Four of them had crossed over to Poland from Ukraine, after which they took a flight to Delhi.

Jammu and Kashmir officials have set up a desk at the Delhi airport to help people from the Union Territory who have returned from Ukraine.

1.30 pm: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that at least 6,000 Russians have been killed during the first six days of Moscow’s invasion, The Guardian reports. He says that Kremlin will not be able to take his country using bombs and airstrikes.

1.21 pm: Russian forces have captured the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, Reuters reports.

12.50 pm: The Indian Air Force says it has sent three aircraft since morning to assist the evacuation of Indians stranded in Ukraine, ANI reports. “The evacuation operation will run round the clock,” Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sandeep Singh says. “Relief materials are also being sent. The operation is underway in coordination with MEA.”

12.25 pm: Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that the building in Zhytomyr that was hit by a Russian missile was a maternity home. Visuals released by the ministry show fires raging at the site, and people engaged in rescue efforts.

12.18 pm: The police headquarters in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv is nearly destroyed after being hit by a Russian rocket, The Kyiv Independent reports.

Firefighters are working to put out the blaze.

12.00 pm: A Russian cruise missile hits a civilian building in the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr, leaving four people dead, Reuters reports. The missiles were said to have been aimed at a nearby air base.

A child is among the four who died, Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, says.

11.48 am: Russian troops land in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv and clash with Ukrainian soldiers, the BBC reports.

On Tuesday, several civilians in Kharkiv were reportedly killed in bombings.

11.40 am: Indians stranded in Ukraine should travel to the Budomierz border crossing for a relatively quick entry into Poland, the Embassy in Poland and Lithuania says.

People should avoid the Shehyni-Medyka border crossing as it is congested, the embassy says.

11:12 am: Air raid alerts have been issued in Chernihiv, Kyiv and Sumy, The Kyiv Independent reports.

10.45 am: Some visuals from Ukraine:

10.22 am: Three Indian Air Force aircraft are scheduled to bring back Indians from Poland, Hungary and Romania, ANI reports. One C-17 globemaster has already left for Romania early on Wednesday.

10.15 am: South Ukrainian city of Kherson has also fallen to Russian forces, the BBC reports, citing officials from Kyiv.

9.43 am: Ukraine’s defence ministry says it has evidence that Belarus is planning to aid Russia’s military operation, The Associated Press reports.

“During the past 24 hours, according to intelligence findings, there has been significant aircraft activity,” the statement reads. “In addition, there has been movement of a column of vehicles with food and ammunition approaching the border.”

9.39 am: Russian troops land in Ukraine’s Kharkiv city, reports AFP.

9.19 am: Russian troops seize river port and Kherson city railway stations, CNN reports.

9.17 am: Russian President Vladimir Putin prohibits Russians from leaving the country with more than $10,000 currency, The Kyiv Independent reports.

8.56 am: Moldova’s borders have been opened for Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia says. The minister is currently overseeing evacuation efforts in Romania.

8.50 am: President Joe Biden says that United States will close its airspace to all Russian flights, CNN reported.

During his State of the Union address, Biden says that the Russian currency ruble has lost 30% of its value and that Russia’s stock markets has lost 40% of its value. “Russia’s economy is reeling and Putin alone is to blame,” he says.

8.45 am: All Indian citizens have left Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, says Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, according to PTI.

The foreign secretary says he has communicated India’s demand for safe passage for its citizens in the Kharkiv city and other conflict zones to the envoys of Russia and Ukraine.

A total of 26 flights have been scheduled in the next three days to bring back Indian nationals, Shringla says.

8.40 am: Here is a roundup of the top developments from Ukraine in the past 24 hours:

• An Indian student, Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, died in shelling in Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv on Tuesday. The development came hours after the Indian embassy in Ukraine issued an advisory, asking citizens stranded in Kyiv to “urgently” leave through trains or any other available means.
• At least eight people were killed in Russian air strikes on a residential building in Kharkiv. Russia also attacked the city’s regional administration building, leaving at least 10 people dead.
• Russia and Ukraine will hold a second round of talks on March 2, reported Reuters, citing information from the Russia’s TASS news agency. The news agency said that the initial talks, held on Monday, had lasted five hours.