Ukraine crisis: PM Narendra Modi to speak to Ukrainian Prez Volodymyr Zelensky today

New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (March 7) will speak to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on the phone. PM Modi's call to Ukraine President comes in the backdrop of multiple requests, including by Ukraine’s foreign minister, to play a more active role in resolving the crisis.

Over the weekend, Ukraine's Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba had urged the Prime Minister to reach out to Russian President Putin to stop the ongoing invasion of his country.

Pointing to the "special relations" between India and Russia, Ukraine foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba in response to a WION question said, "All countries who enjoy special relations with India they can appeal to President Putin, PM Modi we call him to continue reaching out to President Putin and explaining to him that this war is against the interest of all"

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Putin have spoken 2 times since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

During his first conversation on February 24, PM appealed for cessation of violence and return to the path of diplomatic negotiations. It was on the same day, Russia began the invasion of Ukraine.

While the safety of Indian nationals has been the top focus of the talks, PM Modi has during the talks has emphasized "honest and sincere dialogue" according to the readout by the Indian side.

For India, the biggest worry remains the around 500+Indian students stranded in Sumy.

India has launched Operation Ganga, the evacuation mission to bring back its nationals from the war-torn country who have crossed over to neighbouring countries like Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova.

Under Operation Ganga, so far 76 Flights have brought over 15920 Indians back to India.

Out of these 76 flights, 13 flights landed in the last 24 hours.

In all, over 21000 Indians came out of Ukraine since the issuance of the advisory in January 2022. Out of these, 19920 Indians have already reached India