New Delhi, Mar 1 (FN Representative)Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired another high level meeting on Tuesday regarding the Ukraine crisis and expressed deep anguish at the death of Indian student Naveen Shekharappa. “The meeting began with an expression of deep regret and condolences on death of Naveen, who died earlier today, PM conveyed deep anguish at death of the Indian national,” Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said in a special briefing on Operation Ganga.
Earlier, the Prime Minister also spoke to the father of the killed Indian student. This was 4th meeting on Ukraine in the past 48 hours as the crisis further deepens with Russia scaling up its offensive. The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and officials of the security agencies to discuss the evacuation of stranded Indians in war torn Ukraine. Shrigla said that evacuation from Kharkiv is now government’s priority as 40 percent of the Indian nationals remaining in Ukraine are in Kharkiv, Sumy area. He said that there are no Indian nationals left in Kyiv. Foreign Secretary also called Ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine to reiterate India’s demand for urgent safe passage for Indian nationals who are still in Kharkiv and cities of other conflict zones.