Russia considering humanitarian corridor for Indians in Kharkiv

Moscow will investigate death of Indian student. No disruption in military supplies to India, says Ambassador Alipov

Russia is ‘actively’ considering providing humanitarian corridor to Indians staying in the eastern city of Kharkiv which has a significant number of Indian students and professionals.

In his first press conference since taking charge as the new Ambassador of Russia, Denis Alipov appreciated India’s position at the Security Council and said Moscow will investigate the death of the Indian medical student in Kharkiv.

"We are actively considering providing humanitarian corridor so that they can be evacuated through the Russian territory," said Ambassador Alipov.

The Russian envoy condoled the death of Naveen S G who was killed on Tuesday while standing outside a supermarket. He assured an investigation would be carried out to find the exact circumstances of the student’s death.

Mr. Alipov was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday following the death of the student who hailed from Karnataka.

India has rushed a team of officials from Moscow to the Russian city of Belgorod which is located near the Ukrainian border. India has officials stationed in Belgorod but they are unable to reach out to its nationals in Kharkiv because of Russian bombing.

The Ambassador’s assurance on the humanitarian corridor comes amidst reports that Kharkiv, which is the second largest city of Ukraine, has come under control of the Russian forces. It is understood that India will evacuate its citizens if the ongoing fighting is paused for a while.