Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Irrespective of the huge costs it is paying—an estimated USD 200 billion per day (Rs. 1.75 lakh crore)—an aggressive Russia continued to pound Ukraine on the sixth day on Tuesday, alarming India to recalibrate its moves to minimize the loses, particularly after the death of an Indian student, in a conflict rapidly descending into a long-drawn-out war.
On Thursday last week, when it launched the offensive, Russia had expected the conflict will be over in 48 hours. Thereafter, it thought its intensified attack will bring Ukraine on the knees in 96 hours. However, the smaller neighbor has dug in and resisted for six days so bravely that Moscow has been forced to escalate the conflict further. Unless it takes Kyiv, the capital, and Kharkiv, the defense production hub, it cannot claim victory in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, a final year Indian medical student from Haveri (Karnataka), Naveen Shekharappa, lost his life in Russian shelling in Ukraine, a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi. He died when Russian soldiers blew up a government building in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
“With profound sorrow, we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning. The Ministry is in touch with his family. We convey our deepest condolences to the family,” tweeted the MEA’s Arindam Bagchi.
Taking a serious view of the fast-changing situation, the government directed the Indian Air Force (IAF) to join the private airlines’ efforts and speed up the rescue of Indian citizens, including students, and bring them back to India.
The Indian Embassy in Kyiv advised all Indian citizens to leave the Ukrainian capital “urgently today, by trains or any other means available”, showing that the conflict is escalating and entering a long-drawn-out war.
Another key move came from the State Bank of India (SBI), which, according to media reports, will not process any transactions involving Russian entities, subject to international sanctions imposed by the West. “No transactions involving entities, banks, ports or vessels appearing” on a U.S., European Union, or United Nations sanctions list shall be processed irrespective of the currency of the transaction”, SBI informed some clients.
The West is tightening the financial noose around Moscow. The SBI move showed New Delhi’s balancing act between Russia and the West.
These moves on Tuesday showed India is bracing for a longer war than it expected earlier. Although no third country has directly joined the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Moscow has warned European countries against equipping Ukraine financially or militarily, showing its readiness to expand the war zone into the Continent.
After Naveen’s death, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla summoned the ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine in the Capital to “reiterate India’s demand for urgent and safe passage for Indian nationals”. India’s ambassadors to both Russia and Ukraine have also been directed to meet the officers concerned.
Videos from Kharkiv showed extensive damage from the Russian military assault. Naveen Shekharappa was hit when he was standing outside a grocery store.
Satellite images showed a 60-km-long convoy of Russian military vehicles on roadways northwest of Kyiv. Hundreds of tanks, towed artillery, armored and logistical vehicles could be seen in the images released by a US-based space technology company, the media reported.
Around 16,000 Indian students are still stranded in Ukraine, many of whom shared photos and videos on social media from underground bunkers, metro stations, and bomb shelters, where they have been hiding since the Russian attack started last Thursday. Around 9,000 Indian nationals have left by various special flights.
Several Indian students remain stranded in eastern parts of Ukraine, which is most affected by the Russian military offensive. They find it difficult to travel by road to reach the western borders on their way back home. With dwindling supplies of food, they have also been walking to the borders in sub-zero conditions, hoping to cross over and take a flight home, the reports said.
On Monday, the Indian Embassy had asked students to go to the railway station in Kyiv, where special evacuation trains have been arranged by Ukraine to take people to the western region. Some students complained they were not allowed to board the trains or were mistreated by Ukrainian officials, who, apparently, prioritized local citizens’ exit.