KATHMANDU, March 1: An Indian student was killed on Monday in shelling in Ukraine by invading Russian military personnel, according to Indian media reports.
The deceased has been identified as 21-year-old Naveen Shekharappa, a final year medical student from Karnataka's Haveri. He died when Russian soldiers blew up a government building in Kharkiv on Tuesday.
"With profound sorrow we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning. The Ministry is in touch with his family. We convey our deepest condolences to the family," tweeted Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
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A large number of foreign students including those from Nepal and India live in Kharkiv city of Ukraine. Three Nepali students living in Kharkiv have managed to leave Ukraine, while one other student is still in the city with her Indian friends hoping to rescued along with them, according to officials at Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
Indian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Bagchi said Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had called in the ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine to reiterate India's demand for urgent safe passage for Indian nationals who are still in Kharkiv and cities in other conflict zones.
In Kharkiv-- Ukraine's second largest city--, video footage showed extensive damage from the Russian military assault that started last Thursday. The central square of the city was shelled by advancing forces, who hit a government building, on Tuesday morning.
According to a NDTV report, Naveen was standing in a queue outside a grocery store when he was hit. "He lived near the Governor's House and had been standing in the queue for food. Suddenly there was an air strike that blew up the Governor's House and he was killed," the report quoted fellow student Pooja Praharaj as saying.
The incident comes in the wake of authorities in India and Nepal asking students to urgently leave Ukraine capital Kyiv by trains or any other means available as tens of thousands of Russian and Belarusian troops are planning to storm the capital city.
According to the Embassy of Nepal in Germany, which is concurrently accredited to Ukraine, there are about 200 Nepali nationals living in Ukraine. Around 40 of them are permanent residents of Ukraine, while most others are students pursuing various courses there.
A total of 298 Nepali nationals including three of them living in conflict-hit Kharkiv were able to leave Ukraine. Of them, 232 have reached Poland, 39 to Slovakia, 23 to Romania and 4 others to Hungary.
