In a televised address on Saturday, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba requested several countries, including India, to appeal to Russia to halt the ongoing crisis and demanded a fresh round of sanctions. The minister accused Russia of violating ceasefire agreements and requested for an end to violence, to allow natives as well as foreigners to evacuate from the war-torn nation.
"I call on the governments of China, India and Nigeria to appeal to Russia to stop the fire and allow people to leave," he said.
The Ukrainian Minister said that if Russia stops 'manipulating" the issue of foreign nationals, they will be safely evacuated, while accusing the Russians of "trying to win sympathy" of countries having foreign nationals in Ukraine, according to a News18 report.
"For 30 years, Ukraine was a welcoming home of thousands of students from Africa, Asia, and to facilitate their movement, Ukraine has arranged trains, set-up hotlines and worked with embassies", he said.
Kuleba further requested all countries having special relations with Russia to urge Putin to stop the war, appealing to the Russian President that "this war is against the interest of all".
The Minister said that India is one of the largest consumers of Ukrainian agricultural products and if this war continues, it would be hard for the country to seed new harvests. "So even in terms of global and Indian food security, it's in the best interest to stop this war".
Although Kuleba denied the existence of any humanitarian corridors and ceasefires, India on Saturday pressed the two governments to immediately ceasefire in the North-eastern city of Sumy, where around 700 Indians are stranded.
Arindam Bagchi, the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said that India's main objective right now is to evacuate everyone from Sumy, now that almost all Indians from Kharkiv and Pisochyn are safely evacuated.
Watch the latest DH Videos here: