Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to take immediate action to evacuate students trapped in war zones in Ukraine through Russia. The Prime Minister must urgently engage with the Russian leadership to prepare a humanitarian corridor for students to exit on humanitarian grounds. In the letter, the Chief Minister sought the co-operation of the concerned governments and voluntary organizations, including the Red Cross, to provide water and food to those trapped.
Evacuation efforts so far have focused mainly on the western regions of Ukraine, including Kyiv. But thousands of students are stranded in eastern Ukraine, such as Kharkiv and Sumi. The war has intensified there. Bombing and shelling have intensified in both cities. It does not provide students with precise guidelines on what to do in this situation. In its absence, many students are trying to move to the western region on their own. The Chief Minister pointed out in the letter that this poses a great challenge to their lives.
In a letter dated February 27, the Chief Minister said that the students in the bunkers should be provided with the necessary food and water and that immediate action should be taken to evacuate those from the eastern regions through Russia.
The Chief Minister thanked the Central Government for its intervention as part of Operation Gum Gay. So far 244 students have returned to Kerala. Contacting parents of students still trapped in Ukraine. The CM said in the letter that he assured them that the government would make efforts to bring them back as soon as possible.
