As many as 5,000 Tamil Nadu students are currently trapped in Ukraine and desperately seeking a way out of the country, according to the latest reports, with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin appealing to the Indian government for intervention.
“I request the Government of India to arrange for Special Mission flights like Vande Bharath Mission to evacuate them from various parts of Ukraine," said Stalin, as news of the trapped students began to emerge.
“We have been receiving hundreds of distress calls from the family members of the students studying in Ukraine requesting for their urgent evacuation. However, it has come to our notice that airports in Ukraine are closed. They are in need of our support to be brought back to India safely.”
In the light of the serious conflict between Russia and Ukraine, I've requested Hon'ble @DrSJaishankar to intervene immediately to evacuate thousands of students from Tamil Nadu who are stranded in Ukraine and to nominate a nodal officer for better coordination with Govt of TN. pic.twitter.com/oIeB51cXSZ
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) February 24, 2022
The Chief Minister has reportedly said the Tamil Nadu state government will bear the full cost of the evacuation.
This morning, heavy fighting was reported around the capital of Kyiv as Russian forces attempted to make their way into the city.