Indian diplomats' families in Ukraine asked to leave

New Delhi, February 20

The Ministry of External Affairs has decided to withdraw the families of Indian diplomats in Ukraine even as in a fresh advisory, the Indian Embassy in Kyiv asked Indian nationals to leave the country temporarily, if their stay is not essential.

The advisory came following rising tensions between NATO countries and Russia over the Ukraine crisis.

“In view of continued high levels of tensions and uncertainties with respect to the situation in Ukraine, all Indian nationals, whose stay is not deemed essential, and all Indian students are advised to leave Ukraine temporarily,” the advisory said.

Meanwhile, India has rejected suggestions regarding a parallel between China’s belligerence in the Indo-Pacific region and Russia’s military build-up around Ukraine.

“Certainly the assumption in your question that somehow there is a trade-off and one country does it in the Pacific and so in return you do something else, I don’t think that’s the way international relations work,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. —