Russia Ukraine Conflict Updates: French Energy Minister Barbara Pompili on Friday said that France has activated the crisis cell at its ASN nuclear watchdog body after an earlier fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, as per Reuters. Ukraine’s state emergency service have informed that fire near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been put out. The International Atomic Energy Agency also said that it was informed by Ukraine’s nuclear regulator that “there has been no change reported in radiation levels” at the nuclear power station shelled by Russian troops, reported AP. A fire broke out in a training building outside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant’s perimeter in Ukraine after an attack by Russian troops, the state emergency service said in a statement on Friday. However, Ukrainian authorities have said that the safety of the nuclear power plant is now secured, as per AFP.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, largest of its kind in Europe, caught fire and the Russian army was shelling it from all sides, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. “Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe,” Kuleba’s tweet said.
“Fire has already broke out. If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chornobyl! Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone!” Kuleba wrote.
There have been conflicting reports on weather the radiations emerging from the plant have been controlled or not. While a government official earlier told the Associated Press that elevated levels of radiation are being detected near the plant, some media reports said the radiation situation is under control. The plant is located in Enerhodar, a city on the Dnieper River that accounts for one-quarter of the country’s power generation. A spokesman for the plant said the shelling by Russian forces began early Friday, reported AP.
Indian student hospitalised after being shot in capital city of Ukraine: Reports
An Indian student has been hospitalised after he was reportedly shot with a bullet in the capital city of Ukraine. Speaking to ANI, Minister of State (MoS) for Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) General VK Singh revealed the information at Poland’s Rzeszow airport. “Today, we heard reports that a student leaving Kyiv was shot at. He was taken back to Kyiv. This will happen in a fighting,” the minister told media persons.
In Detail: Indian student shot at in Kyiv, hospitalised
In other development, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday that in the “last few” weeks, “what we’ve seen from India…is the cancellation of MiG-29 orders, Russian helicopter orders and anti-tank weapon orders,” reported The Indian Express.
Hours after the Indian government announced that it had not received any reports of hostage situation regarding any student, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that more than 3,000 Indian nationals are being kept at the Kharkiv train station in eastern Ukraine by the Ukrainian military. In New Delhi, authorities viewed this as a difficult situation in a conflict zone where citizens have been taking shelter underground and in bunkers, reported AP.
Here are the latest updates on Russia-Ukraine conflict:
Budget carrier AirAsia India on Friday said it is operating an evacuation flight from Suceava city in Romania to fly back stranded Indians from the war-hit Ukraine. AirAsia India's maiden rescue flight under Operation Ganga, has departed from Suceava to Delhi carrying over 170 guests safely, the airline said on Friday. "The flight departed to Delhi from Suceava at 6.30 pm (local time) and it is being operated via Dubai. it is expected to arrive in Delhi at 4.30 am (on Saturday), subject to OCC approval,” an AirAsia India spokesperson said. The Bengaluru-headquartered carrier, in which Tata Group owns 83.6 per cent stake, and Malaysian airliner group AirAsia the rest 16.33 per cent, also said it is looking to operate few more evacuation flights. (PTI)
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju who is overseeing the evacuation of Indians from war-hit Ukraine through Slovakia on Friday called on the prime minister of the Slovak Republic. The Indian embassy in Slovakia tweeted about the meeting. Rijiju is among the four Union ministers sent by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his special envoys to Ukraine's neighbouring countries as part of the Operation Ganga to evacuate Indian nationals. "Hon'ble Minister Kiren Rijiju called on Prime Minister Eduard Heger of the Slovak Republic and conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message, and expressed gratitude for the help extended in evacuating back to India the Indian nationals who have come from Ukraine," the embassy tweeted. (PTI)
Another group of eight students, who were stuck in war-torn Ukraine, reached Jaipur on Friday. Industries minister Shakuntla Rawat and MLA Rafiq Khan received the students, who had reached the Mumbai airport from Bucharest and then arrived at Jaipur by a plane. Rawat said the state government will bear the expenses of the students' travel to their home. Of the eight students, two each belonged to Ajmer, Kota and Bhilwara, one each to Pali and Udaipur each. (PTI)
Ukraine plans to hold third round of talks with Russian officials this weekend- presidential advisor: News agency AFP (ANI)
The European Union's foreign policy chief called on Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Friday to stop indiscriminate shelling and bombing of Ukraine. "This is Putin's war, and Putin has to stop this war," Josep Borrell told reporters in Brussels before a meeting of EU and other foreign ministers to discuss the Ukraine crisis. (Reuters)
Expressing concern about the future of medical students who have returned homfrom Ukraine, the Indian Medical Association has recommended to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that they be adjusted in India medical schools as a one-time measure. In a letter to Modi on Friday, the IMA stated that such students should be permitted to go to Indian medical colleges for the remainder of their MBBS course through an "appropriate disbursed distribution", but it should not be seen as an increase in the annual intake capacity. The IMA has recommended that this could be done following the modalities of distribution of students in other medical schools in India if an ongoing medical college is closed. (PTI)
G7 foreign ministers agreed to impose further sanctions if Russia does not stop attacking Ukraine -Japan foreign minister Hayashi
S7, Russia's biggest private airline and second largest overall, said on Friday it was ceasing all international flights as of Saturday after the Russian aviation sector was hit by sweeping sanctions on the West. The European Union, Britain and United States and some other countries have closed their airspace starting next week, one of a package of punitive measures after Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation.” S7, which operates about 100 planes, has flights to Turkey and UAE on Friday but will cease all its flights abroad from Saturday, it said. (Reuters)
Twenty more Assam students, stranded in war-torn Ukraine, have arrived in New Delhi, taking the total number of evacuees from the state to 83, officials said here on Friday. The students arrived in different batches at Indira Gandhi International Airport and Hindon Air Force Station, where they were received by Assam government officials. Six students arrived late on Thursday night in three separate flights while 12 others arrived by an Air Force flight on Friday morning, and two others at IGI Airport in the afternoon. (PTI)
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday the situation in Ukraine was worsening and it must not be allowed to escalate, adding Turkey would keep its air space open. Speaking after a NATO meeting in Brussels, Cavusoglu added Turkey and Russia were in contact at the military level to make sure Turkish vessels could safely return from ports in the Black Sea. (Reuters)
(Evacuation) It looks difficult without a ceasefire. We urge the parties concerned- Ukraine & Russia, to have a local ceasefire at least, so that we can evacuate our people, students: MEA (ANI)
The Kremlin told Russians on Friday to rally around President Vladimir Putin and said that what happened next in the negotiations over Ukraine would depend on Kyiv's reaction to this week's talks between the two sides. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that no documents had been agreed with Ukraine at the talks, but that Moscow had told the Ukrainian side how it saw the solution to the war. Russia invaded Ukraine last week in a move it describes as a "special military operation". "The talks that took place were a good opportunity to clearly convey to the Ukrainian side our vision of solving this problem. Going forward, everything will depend on the reaction of the Ukrainian side," Peskov said. (Reuters)
Aviation Ministry says 11 civilian flights and four operated by Indian Air Force will bring back stranded Indians on Saturday. (PTI)
Two Air India Express flights on Friday brought 369 Indian nationals who were stranded in war-hit Ukraine to Mumbai from Romania's capital Bucharest and the Hungarian capital Budapest, the airline's spokesperson said. So far, a total of 951 Indians stuck in Ukraine, most of them students, have landed in Mumbai by five evacuation flights operated by Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express since February 26. Thousands of Indians got stuck in Ukraine after Russia invaded the country. An Air India Express flight from Budapest with 184 Indian evacuees landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here at 12.20 pm. Earlier in the day, Air India Express flight from Bucharest IX 1204 with 185 evacuees arrived at 2.13 am at the city airport where Union minister Raosaheb Danve welcomed the passengers. (PTI)
The Kremlin told Russians on Friday to rally around President Vladimir Putin and said that what happened next in the negotiations over Ukraine would depend on Kyiv's reaction to this week's talks between the two sides. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that no documents had been agreed yet with Ukraine at the talks, but that Moscow had told the Ukrainian side how it saw the solution to the war. Russia invaded Ukraine last week in a move it describes as a "special military operation". (Reuters)
A total of 5,245 Indians airlifted from Romania to India till 3rd March, says the Government of India. (ANI)
IndiGo said it will operate 12 evacuation flights with over 2,600 Indians from war-torn Ukraine's neighbouring countries between Friday and Sunday. India has been evacuating its citizens through special flights from Ukraine's western neighbours such as Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland as the Ukrainian airspace has been shut since February 24 due to a Russian military offensive. In a statement, IndiGo said 42 evacuation flights with 9,200 Indians had been scheduled to operate between February 28 and March 6. "We have already operated 30 flights bringing back more than 6,600 of our citizens till today," the airline's Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said on Friday. (PTI)
India on Friday abstained in a vote in the UN Human Rights Council that has decided to urgently establish an independent international commission of inquiry as a result of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The 47-member Council voted on a draft resolution on the situation of human rights in Ukraine. The resolution was adopted with 32 votes in favour, two against (Russia and Eritrea) and 13 abstentions, including India, China, Pakistan, Sudan and Venezuela. The countries voting in favour included France, Germany, Japan, Nepal, UAE, UK and the US. "The Human Rights Council has decided to urgently establish an independent international commission of inquiry as a result of Russia's aggression against Ukraine,” the Council tweeted. (PTI)
A total of 304 students hailing from Madhya Pradesh have returned so far from war-torn Ukraine, state Home minister Narottam Mishra said on Friday. He said the kin of 454 students have contacted the MP government on its helpline for information and help in evacuation. "So far, 304 students have returned safely to MP. Officials are in contact with the families of the remaining150 students, all of whom are safe. The state government is providing free lodging and food to students at MP Bhawan in Delhi on their return from Ukraine," Mishra, who is also state government spokesperson, said. (PTI)
The New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS bloc has put all new transactions in Russia on hold citing the "unfolding uncertainties and restrictions", amidst the Ukraine crisis. The NDB's move came a day after the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) put on hold all its projects in Russia and its ally Belarus. “The New Development Bank (NDB) applies sound banking principles in all its operations, as stated in its Articles of Agreement”, a statement by the bank posted on its website on Thursday said. “In light of unfolding uncertainties and restrictions, NDB has put new transactions in Russia on hold”, it said. “NDB will continue to conduct business in full conformity with the highest compliance standards as an international institution”, it said. (PTI)
The head of the United Nations' atomic agency a Ukrainian nuclear plant was hit by a Russian “projectile” but that the building was a training center. Earlier reports conflicted over what part of the plant was affected by fire that broke out after shelling. Nuclear plant spokesman Andriy Tuz told Ukrainian television overnight that shells fell directly on the facility, and set fire to reactor that is not operating and to an administrative training building. (AP)
Russian troops have entered the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Mykolayiv for the first time, regional authorities said on Friday. In a video statement shared online, Governor Vitaliy Kim said fighting was under way in parts of the city. "Let's not get nervous," he said. (Reuters)
No damage has been done to the reactors at Ukraine's Zaporozhzhia nuclear power plant after a projectile hit a nearby building on the site overnight, U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi said on Friday, adding he believed the projectile was Russian.
Ukrainian staff continue to operate the nuclear facilities while Russian forces control the area, Grossi told a news conference. (Reuters)
Russia's seizure of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant has heightened fears about lack of access to radiation data and the potential for a nuclear accident, atomic experts said, although they stressed there did not appear to any immediate radiological risks.
Russian forces captured the Zaporizhzhia plant - Europe's largest - after attacking it in the early hours of Friday, setting an adjacent five-storey training facility on fire, Ukrainian authorities said. (Reuters)
Continued dialogue with Japanese PM. Informed about Russia's nuclear terrorism at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. We both agree on the gravity of threats to global security, tweets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (ANI)
Physical integrity of the (nuclear) plant (in Ukraine) has been compromised...It's time for action...Ukraine sent a request to us. I have indicated to both Russia & Ukraine my availability & position to travel as soon as possible: IAEA DG Rafael MarianoGrossi (ANI)
The Union Health Ministry and the National Medical Commission are exploring the possibility of relaxing provisions of the NMC (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021 or finding alternatives to enable Ukraine-return medical students complete their courses in private colleges in India or abroad. Officials from NMC, Health Ministry, MEA and NITI Aayog will soon hold important meeting and the issue will be reviewed on humanitarian grounds and looked at sympathetically, sources said. (PTI)