Ukraine Russia war news Live Updates: Union Ministers Hardeep Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and Gen VK Singh to travel to neighbouring countries of Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers walk past debris of a burning military truck on a street in Kyiv on Saturday, 26 February 2022. AP
Ukraine Russia war news Live Updates | The Dalai Lama on Monday said he was "deeply saddened" by the conflict in Ukraine, as the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader called for peace and "mutual understanding", according to CNN. "War is outdated — non-violence is the only way," he said in a statement.
According to Russia Today, Brazil has refused to pick sides in the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, pledging to remain neutral as the US, EU, UK, and allies continue to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia, accusing it of “unprovoked” aggression.
Union Ministers Hardeep Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and Gen VK Singh to travel to neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate the evacuation mission and help students, government sources tell News18.
According to News18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a high-level meeting now on the Ukraine crisis. There is a possibility that some ministers from the Government of India may go to neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate the evacuations.
Russia's ruble plunged nearly 30 per cent against the dollar on Monday after world powers imposed fresh, harsher sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
The ruble was indicated to be down 27 per cent at 114.33 per dollar in offshore trading, according to Bloomberg News.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday activated a dedicated Twitter handle, "OpGanga Helpline" (@opganga), to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals from war-torn Ukraine. The mission to evacuate the stranded Indians from Ukraine has been named as "Operation Ganga". India has already set up round-the-clock "control centres" in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine through border-crossing points with these countries.
The helpline numbers of the control room in Poland are: +48225400000,+48795850877 and +48792712511. Those requiring help can also write an email to controlroominwarsaw@gmail.com, according to the MEA. The helpline numbers of the control room in Romania are: +40732124309, +40771632567, +40745161631 and +40741528123. The email address for contacting the control room in Romania is controlroombucharest@gmail.com.
The MEA said Indians can contact the control room in Hungary on phone numbers +36 308517373, +36 13257742 and +36 13257743. It also has a WhatsApp number: +36 308517373 for assistance. The helpline numbers of the control room in Slovakia are +421 252631377, +421 252962916 and +421 951697560. The email address is hoc.bratislava@mea.gov.in.According to Ukrainian officials, the world's largest aircraft, the Antonov AN-225, has been destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The enormous aircraft, named "Mriya," or "dream" in Ukrainian, was parked at an airfield near Kyiv when it was attacked.
"Russia may have destroyed our 'Mriya'. But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European state. We shall prevail!" wrote Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter.
India abstained from a procedural vote taken in the UN Security Council to call for a rare special emergency session of the UN General Assembly on Russia's aggression against Ukraine, even as New Delhi welcomed Moscow and Kyiv's decision to hold talks at the Belarus border.
The resolution was adopted with 11 votes in favour, paving the way for the General Assembly to meet on the crisis as soon as Monday. India, China and the UAE abstained, while Russia voted against the resolution. This will be only the 11th such emergency session of the General Assembly since 1950.
The 15-nation Security Council met on Sunday afternoon to hold the vote on the emergency special session of the 193-member General Assembly on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
This comes two days after the Russian veto blocked a UNSC resolution on its "aggression" against Ukraine.