On Sunday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged to pause the fighting in Ukraine to allow safe passage to people who caught up in the conflict regions like Kharkiv and Sumy.
As Russia’s military attack against Ukraine increased on Sunday, Guterres stated in a tweet, “It is absolutely essential to establish a pause in the fighting in Ukraine to allow for the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy, as well as all other places caught in the conflict, and to ensure life-saving humanitarian supplies can move in for those who remain.”
It is absolutely essential to establish a pause in the fighting in Ukraine to allow for the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy, as well as all other places caught in conflict, and to ensure life-saving humanitarian supplies can move in for those who remain.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 6, 2022
The UN chief’s tweet came in the wake of Russian claims that Ukrainian nationalists are detaining Indian and other foreign people in certain areas by force.
On Friday, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, told the UN Security Council that Ukrainian nationals are keeping over 3,700 Indian citizens in Kharkiv and Sumy by force and that Russian buses are ready and waiting at crossing points to transport Indian students and other foreign nationals out of these Ukrainian cities.
When asked about this on Thursday, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi refuted the assertion stating India has no such information or reports. Bagchi also denied allegations made by both Russia and Ukraine that Indian students are being kept captive in Kharkiv on Thursday.
