Exploring options to reduce impact of war on Indian students studying in Ukraine: Govt

The Russia-Ukraine war left a huge impact on the careers of Indian students studying in Ukrainian universities. They have been worried after fleeing the war-torn country. But the Indian government is trying to come up with a solution to ease their complexities.

During a briefing on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine at the UN Security Council, India's Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN Ambassador, R Ravindra, said that the impact of the situation on the education of children has been critical and severe as it further exacerbated the ongoing pandemic-related challenges that adolescents were going through, as stated in a report by PTI.

Even though Russia launched a large-scale military war against Ukraine, India successfully ensured the safe return of about 22,500 Indians, many of them medical students, the ambassador said. He added that this situation affected all foreign students along with Indians.

“We are exploring options to minimise the impact on our students' education. We appreciate the relaxations made by the Ukrainian government for this academic year in respect of medical students,” Ravindra said.

Ravindra reiterated that India supports calls for guarantees of safe passage to deliver essential humanitarian corridors. Further, he noted that the food security challenges emerging out of the conflict “requires us to respond by going beyond constraints that bind us presently". “Energy security is equally a serious concern and needs to be addressed through cooperative efforts,” Ravindra said.

“Since the beginning of the Ukrainian conflict, India has stood for peace, dialogue and diplomacy. We believe that no solution can be arrived at by shedding blood and at the cost of innocent lives, especially those of women and children,” he added.