Ukraine-Russia war: Indian student killed in Kharkiv shelling, MEA in touch with his family

In tragic news for the country, the Ministry of External Affairs has said that an Indian student has lost his life in the shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine this morning. The Ministry is in touch with his family.

“Foreign Secretary is calling in Ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine to reiterate our demand for urgent safe passage for Indian nationals who are still in Kharkiv and cities in other conflict zones,” ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said on Twitter.

He further wrote, “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.”

The Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday had claimed that the centre of the country’s second-largest city Kharkiv has been badly hit by renewed Russian shelling. Oleh Sinehubov, the head of the Kharkiv regional administration, said the administration building in the centre of Kharkiv came under heavy Russian shelling along with other residential buildings.

Sinehubov said that Ukrainian troops are fending off Russian attempts to advance on the city of 1.4 million people. Videos posted on Ukrainian social networks and media showed a massive explosion next to the towering Soviet-era administrative building on Kharkiv’s central square hitting several cars parked in front of it, shattering windows but leaving the building largely intact.