Be cautious, take refuge in 'bomb shelters': Maj Gen (Retd) BK Sharma to Indians in Ukraine
Mar 01, 2022
New Delhi [India], March 1 : Strategic analysts and security experts have urged trapped Indians in Ukraine to be cautious and advised them to take refuge in " bomb shelters" after an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv city on Tuesday.
Talking about the incident, defense expert, Maj Gen (Retd) BK Sharma termed the incident as unfortunate and condoled the death of the Indian student.
"This is very unfortunate, but in war situations, people do lose their life, this is what happened in Ukraine in the Kharkiv area. All I want to say is that it has no strategic dimension except that it has a huge humanitarian cost. One can only condole and lament this death," said the defense expert.
Naveen Shekharappa, a medical student from Karnataka's Haveri died when Russian soldiers blew up a government building in Kharkiv this morning. Naveen was standing outside a grocery store when he was hit.
"The war has broken out and no one anticipated that President Putin will launch this offensive and war has broken out, people will die," said Sharma.
He further advised Indian nationals to take refuge in "bomb shelters" till the government aid reaches them.
News of the student's death came within an hour of the Indian embassy in Ukraine asking its citizens to urgently leave the capital Kyiv.
"Advisory to Indians in Kyiv- All Indian nationals including students are advised to leave Kyiv urgently today. Preferably by available trains or through any other means available," a statement from the embassy read.
Russian and Ukrainian troops continued to engage in fighting in Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv on the sixth day since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military operations.
The Ukrainian presidential advisor said Russian troops are trying to lay siege to the capital Kyiv and Kharkiv.
There were reports of a 40-mile convoy of tanks and other vehicles threatening the capital -- tactics Ukraine's embattled president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said were designed to force him into concessions in Europe's largest ground war in generations.
Meanwhile, the Indian government launched Operation Ganga to rescue Indian citizens, mostly students, from Ukraine.
