NEW DELHI: A 22-year-old Indian student lost his life in shelling in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed today.
The student, Naveen Shekharappa belonged to Chalageri (Haveri) in Karnataka. He had reportedly stepped out to buy foods when he got caught in the shelling.
In a tweet MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted, “with profound sorrow we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning.”
Kharkiv is the second largest city of Ukriane and located in the northeast part of the country.
The ministry is said to be in touch with the family of the student.
Meanwhile, India has stepped up its diplomatic parlance to secure safe returns of its nationals from the war-torn areas. Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla called on the Ambassadors of Russia and Ukriane to ensure safe and dignified evacuation of stranded Indian nationals including students in Kharkiev and other towns in the war-torn states.
According to MEA, the Indian Ambassadors in Russia and Ukriane have been assigned to appeal the authorities in the respective states for safe repatraition of Indian nationals.
Hundreds of anxious friends and family members of stranded Indian nationals are visiting MEA secretariat for enquiry on the evacuation.
The Ministry of External Affair’s control room for the Ukraine crisis has received at least 8,000 telephone calls and processed nearly 6,000 emails in the last few days, spokesperson of MEA shared with The New Indian.