The Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed that an Indian student has died in Russia – Ukraine War and urged both countries to allow safe passage to Indian nationals. On March 1, Naveen Shekharappa, a medical student hailing from Karnataka, died in an explosion from the ongoing war.
Chandan Jindal, a 22-year-old medical student from India, died of an ischemic stroke in Ukraine on March 2, but it was not clear if his sudden death was related to the conflict.
War intensifies even as Ukraine and Russia hold talks
At least 70 Ukrainian soldiers died after Russian artillery struck a military base in Okhtyrka hours ago.
An administration building in Kharkiv came under a missile attack, and Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry posted this footage.
Meanwhile, more than 350 Ukrainian civilians are reported to have lost their lives.
While the Ukrainian Casualties are estimated to be under 700, the country suggested that Russian forces suffered much heavier losses.
With Russia placing its nuclear forces on alert, the world countries have called for an immediate de-escalation of the crisis.
The latest talks between the higher officials of both countries yielded no concrete results.
West cracks down on Russia with sanctions; Putin hits back
The US sanctioned the Russian President directly, along with the country’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The US treasury said that targeting the leader of a nation is rare and that Mr. Putin joins despots such as Kim Jong Un and Bashar-Al-Assad, and blamed him for having the ‘most involvement’ in the current crisis.
President Vladimir Putin immediately hit back at the sanctions, calling the US a ‘system-forming power,’ and that collectively the west has become an empire of lies.
Despite the war of words, the sanctions against Russia, which include cutting the nation from ‘SWIFT,’ the global payment system, could have considerable implications for the Russian economy. The Rouble has fallen by 30 percent.
Countries send aid to Ukraine
Japan allocated $100 million to Ukraine as immediate assistance. Several nations led by the US have been sending military aid.
But a direct conflict with Russia is all but ruled out by the western bloc. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, and the member nations are not bound to counter a military attack directly.
French President Emmanuel Macron has asked the Russian President to avoid any attacks on civilians.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested the western nations to impose a no-fly zone over a large part of Ukraine to prevent the Russian airstrikes. The proposal received no support, as such a measure would bring the enforcing nations in direct conflict with Russia.
Mr. Zelenskyy has also written to the European Union requesting a membership, but it is unclear how much more support it will get Ukraine, even if approved.
A war in waiting
The relationship between Russia and Ukraine has been very fragile since 2014, when then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, a pro-Russian leader, was forcibly removed from office, and Russia reacted by annexing Crimea the same year.
The eastern Oblasts of Donbas and Luhansk in Ukraine have largely been under the control of pro-Russian separatists since then.
The situation deteriorated further since the last few months as more than 100,000 Russian troops amassed on the country’s border with Ukraine, and the US had alleged that Russia was planning a War. Russia, meanwhile, proposed a list of demands, including a guarantee that Ukraine would never be allowed to join NATO, which the western coalition flatly refused.
The armed conflict began when Russia recognized the independence of the eastern oblasts, Donbas and Luhansk, on February 21, sending in troops to the regions.
The armed conflict blew up into a full-scale war when President Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine on February 24.