New Delhi

In a major development on the issue of Indians stranded in Ukraine, Russia has said it has kept130 buses ready to evacuate Indian students and other foreigners from Ukraine's Kharkiv and Sumy to Russia's Belgorod Region.

Russian National Defense Control Center Head Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev announced Thursday. "A total of 130 comfortable buses are ready to depart to Kharkiv and Sumy from the Nekhoteyevka and Sudzha checkpoints in the Belgorod Region since 6 AM today to Rescue Indian students and citizens of other foreign states," he said.

Earlier, Russia and Ukraine had reached an understanding on the joint provision of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilian population and for the delivery of medicines and food to the places of hostilities in Ukraine, said Mikhail Podolyak, a member of the Ukrainian delegation for the talks between the two countries."There is a possibility of a temporary ceasefire for the period when the evacuation will be carried out in the sectors where it is being carried out," he said, RT reported. This has created an opportunity for the Indian students who are stranded in various locations across Ukraine while attempting to reach the borders with other countries where the Indian government has arranged planes to fly them out of the war zone to home.

Groups of students who are stranded midway while walking to the borders on the insturction of the Indian embassy have posted appeals for rescue as they are stuck midway and face shortages of food are feel insecure. A group of four Indian students, who had started walking to the border have posted this video on social media and it has been shared on Twitter:

#Kharkhiv से 18 घंटे पैदल चलकर
हम जिस बंकर में हम फंसे हुए हैं वहां से पोलैंड की दूरी उतनी है जितनी पंजाब से बांग्लादेश की है.. वहां तक पहुंचने का कोई जरिया नहीं हैं"..2 घंटे पहले जारी हुए वीडियो मैसेज में भारतीय विद्यार्थी @mygovindia से मदद की गुहार लगा रहे है@HardeepSPuri pic.twitter.com/59PdZXM8Pr

— Ravinder Singh Robin ਰਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ رویندرسنگھ روبن (@rsrobin1) March 3, 2022

According to Podolyak, during the talks between the representatives of Kiev and Moscow, the humanitarian aspects of the situation in Ukraine were discussed in detail. The Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the talks discussed all three blocks of issues related to the situation in Ukraine, said the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky.

"We discussed in detail all three blocks of issues: the military issue, the international humanitarian issue, the third issue is the issue of the future political settlement of the conflict," he said. The positions are "absolutely clear", they are written down point by point, the head of the delegation added.

"For some of them, we managed to find mutual understanding, but the main issue that was resolved today is the issue of saving people, civilians who found themselves in the zone of military clashes," Medinsky said, RT reported.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky noted that the Russian side raised questions during the negotiations to which they had already prepared their answers, and on which compromise is impossible, Ukrayinska Pravda reported. "Well, you can't just go and say 'Ukraine is part of Russia now' - this is just impossible. Why would you offer that," he asked.

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