Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Wednesday condoled the death of an Indian student in Ukraine and said that the Centre should pay more attention to the rescue operation.
Taking to Twitter, Mayawati said, "Very sad news of the death of a young Indian medical student in the war between Russia and Ukraine. My deepest condolences to the victim's family. This incident has increased the wave of concern not only in Karnataka but across the country. Government should pay more effective attention."
She also stated that there is a dire need for the Center to play a more proactive role in providing relief to the victims' families by ensuring the evacuation of 15,000 Indian students who are currently surviving by taking shelter in the bunkers from the horrors of war in Ukraine.
"About 18,000 students from many states of the country, including Uttar Pradesh, are in faraway Ukraine to study and after the outbreak of war, only a few of them have been able to return and the rest are still facing uncertainty and anxiety every moment," the BSP chief added.
Naveen Shekharappa, a 21-year-old student studying at Kharkiv National Medical University, Ukraine died in shelling in Kharkiv on Tuesday.
Shekharappa was reportedly standing in a queue to buy food when he was killed in Russian shelling in Ukraine's Kharkiv.
"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," tweeted the External Affairs Ministry. Efforts are now on to bring his mortal remains to India.
News of the student's death came within an hour of the Indian embassy in Ukraine asking its citizens to urgently leave the capital Kyiv on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences over the demise of the Indian student in Ukraine. He spoke to Naveen Shekharappa's father. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also spoke to the family.
Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow. These countries have also promised Ukraine military aid to fight Russia.
Fighting in Ukraine has so far pushed more than 5,00,000 people across the country's borders, according to the UN refugee agency.
( With inputs from ANI )
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