India to temporarily shift its embassy in Ukraine to Poland

A man from the organization United Sikhs, which provides Indian food at a crossing on the Ukrainian-Polish border for people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, gestures as he speaks to a person, at the border checkpoint in Medyka, Poland. REUTERS

India has decided to temporarily relocate its embassy in Ukraine to Poland, the government said on Sunday. The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that the decision to move the embassy from Kyiv was being taken in view of the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Ukraine, including attacks in the western parts of the country. "The situation will be reassessed in the light of further developments," it added. Earlier this month Ukraine's government said that it had helped evacuate about 20,000 Indian students from areas of the country attacked by Russian forces following Russia's invasion of Ukraine but several were still trapped. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold direct talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to an Indian government source. Russia calls its action in Ukraine a "special operation".