In its latest warning, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine has asked all Indian nationals currently in Kharkiv to leave the city immediately, and reach the neighbouring cities of Pesochin, Babai and Bezlyudovka by 6 pm Ukraine time on Wednesday, February 1. India’s advisory comes a day after an Indian student, 21-year-old Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagouda, was killed in shelling while he was waiting in a line outside a supermarket in Kharkiv. Kharkiv is Ukraine's second-biggest city on the eastern side of Ukraine, with a population of about 1.5 million, and many students are believed to be stuck there in bunkers there, trying to find their way to cross the country to get to the evacuation points on the western border of Ukraine.
“Urgent advisory to all Indian nationals in Kharkiv. For their safety and security they must leave Kharkiv immediately. Proceed to Pesochin (Pysochin), Babaye (Babai) and Bezlyudovka (Bezliudivka) as soon as possible. Under all circumstances they must reach these settlements *by 1800 hrs (Ukrainian time) today*,” the Indian embassy tweeted in all-caps on Wednesday afternoon. Pysochin is 11 km away from the main city of Kharkiv, Babai is 15 km away, while Bezliudivka is around 19 km away from Kharkiv.
The Indian Embassy’s urgent advisory comes after Russian shelling struck central Kharkiv's Freedom Square just after sunrise on Tuesday, badly damaging a regional administration building and other structures, and killing at least six people and wounding dozens of others.
The bombardment blew out windows and walls of buildings that ring the massive square, which was piled high with debris and dust. Inside one building, chunks of plaster were scattered, and doors, ripped from their hinges, lay across hallways. “People are under the ruins. We have pulled out bodies, said Yevhen Vasylenko,” an emergency official.
Ukraine President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy pronounced the attack on the main square frank, undisguised terror and a war crime. “This is state terrorism of the Russian Federation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Russia on Wednesday said it is working "intensely" to create a "humanitarian corridor" for safe passage to Russian territory of Indians stuck in Kharkiv, Sumy and other conflict zones in Ukraine. At a media briefing, Russian Ambassador-designate Denis Alipov said Russia is in touch with India on the issue of safety of Indians and that the safe passage will be put into place "as soon as possible.”
With agency inputs