Deeply concerned about students in Sumy: MEA

New Delhi: India on Saturday said it has "strongly pressed" the Russian and Ukrainian governments through multiple channels for an immediate ceasefire to create a safe passage for the Indian students stuck in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the students have been advised to take safety precautions such as staying inside shelters and to avoid taking unnecessary risks and that the government is "deeply concerned about them".

On Friday, he put the number of Indian students stranded in Sumy, which is nearly 60 kilometres from the Russian border, at around 700. The students have been sending SOS messages and posting videos on social media platforms, pleading for their urgent evacuation from the conflict zone as the city is witnessing fighting and airstrikes.

"We are deeply concerned about Indian students in Sumy, Ukraine. Have strongly pressed Russian and Ukrainian governments through multiple channels for an immediate ceasefire to create a safe corridor for our students," Bagchi tweeted on Saturday. "Have advised our students to take safety precautions, stay inside shelters and avoid unnecessary risks," he said. Bagchi said the MEA and Indian embassies are in regular touch with the students.

The students have been staying in the hostels of the Medical Institute of Sumy State University. India's comments came on a day the Russian defence ministry announced a temporary ceasefire around the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha from 9 am to 4 pm local time (07:00-14:00 GMT).

However, no temporary ceasefire was announced for cities where several hundred Indians have been stranded, including Kharkiv and Sumy. India has been urging both Russia and Ukraine to create safe corridors for the evacuation of its nationals from the conflict zones in eastern Ukraine. Separately, the Indian embassy in Ukraine said three buses have reached Pisochyn and will shortly be making their way to western Ukraine, carrying the stranded students from the area, which is around 11 km from Kharkiv. It said on Twitter that two more buses will be arriving soon.