Ukraine | 'Ukrainian soldiers took Indians hostage, used as human shields': Putin told Modi, say reports

Russia levelled a huge allegation against Ukraine, when President Vladimir Putin spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 2.

While India's press release following the conversation had a brief summary that the two leaders discussed evacuation of Indians from the conflict zone, Russia's press statement was reportedly much more detailed.

According to reports, Putin informed PM Modi that the Russian military had been ordered to do "everything possible" to ensure "safe removal of Indians from the war zone and their return to their homeland".

Putin added that his government was trying to organise an "urgent evacuation of a group of Indian students from Kharkiv through the humanitarian corridor along the shortest route to Russia".

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However, according to latest information, Indian students had actually been "taken hostage by Ukrainian security forces, who use them as human shields", Putin reportedly claimed. The Russian President also said that the Indians were being prevented from leaving for Russian territory by Ukrainian soldiers, as per reports. Putin told Modi that responsibility in this case "lies entirely" with Kyiv authorities.

On March 2, the Indian government had said that around 3,000 Indian nationals were still in Ukraine. The Modi administration had also issued an urgent advisory for all Indians in Kharkiv to leave the city and reach nearby settlements by 6 pm on March 2. This was based on Russian inputs, the government had claimed.