India advises its nationals in Kyiv to leave ‘urgently’ today

The Indian Embassy in Ukraine posted on Twitter, “All Indian nationals including students are advised to leave Kyiv urgently today. Preferably by available trains or through any other means available.”

The dramatic escalation in the tone of the latest advisory comes against the backdrop of reports that a long military convoy of Russian tanks and other equipment was headed to Kyiv.

On Monday, addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that approximately 2,000 Indian nationals, mostly students studying medicine, remain in the Ukrainian capital.

Bagchi also said that many Indian nationals had started moving to the western part of the country from Kyiv. Among those who left were 400 students on a train with their journey arranged through the Indian mission’s efforts, according to the embassy.

Ukraine Railways is putting special trains for evacuations, the embassy had announced on Monday. The first advisory urging Indian nationals to consider leaving Ukraine temporarily was issued by the government on February 15.