News Analysis India

Tag: Russia

  • Berlin Film Festival calls for peace in Ukraine

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: The Berlin Film Festival has called for peace over the situation in Ukraine, which is currently in a state of military conflict after Russian forces launched operation on Thursday morning.

    “We — festival workers, artists, filmmakers — think fondly of our friends in Ukraine and we are by their side in a call for peace,” the festival said in a statement.

    “One week ago, the Berlin International Film Festival was celebrating a complicated yet successful edition. Filmmakers, artists and journalists from all over the world gathered in Berlin to enjoy a collective and joyful experience. The feeling of being together again, with no distinctions of nationality, religion, or culture, transported us in a way that film festivals can accomplish,” the statement added.

    “While these memories remain fresh, other images have broken into our lives, bringing a darker perspective. The world is on a verge of a huge crisis. As a showcase of the free world, the Berlinale has always put at its centre the notion of freedom and the will to bridge East and West.”

    The statement pointed out that the festival has, through its history, showcased films relating to Ukrainian history and culture.

    This included the 2022 selection, Maryna El Gorbach’s ‘Klondike’, set in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, where fighting is taking place on the nearby Russian-Ukrainian border in 2014.

    The festival also showed ‘Terykony’ by Taras Tomenko, Oleg Sentsov’s “Numbers” in 2020, the films of Kira Muratova and the early short films of Myroslav Slaboshpytsky.

    “Films cannot change the society and the course of history, but they can help in changing the minds of people. Films are telling us that the world is already in a too precarious condition to add even more suffering and destruction,” the statement concluded.

  • Ukrainian director Stanislav Kapralov echoes a sense of hope and despair

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Ukrainian director Stanislav Kapralov, who most recently helmed the mystery thriller ‘Egregor’, premiered in 2021, was in the middle of pre-production for a new film — a Hollywood project with U.S. actors and a U.S. distributor lined up — when Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday.

    In an email interview with ‘Variety’, the director-screenwriter said: “My family and I are in Ukraine. It was not possible to leave, but we moved from Kiev to western Ukraine. My father and grandmother are still in Kyiv. They are hiding in basements from bombings — elderly people sitting in damp basements.”

    Kapralov sounded hopeful when he said: “Everyone believes in the Ukrainian army, and no one loses heart. The Ukrainian army is putting up a heroic effort and is inflicting heavy losses on the Russians. Everyone is united in their hatred for Russia. My grandmother lived during the occupation of Ukraine in World War II. All Ukrainians compare Russia with fascist Germany.”

    He was, however, critical of the international community’s reluctance to do more than just condemn the Russian invasion.

    Kapralov told ‘Variety’: “Ukraine is fighting for all of Europe to stop the ‘Hitler’ of the 21st century. But we get the feeling that we are fighting alone. NATO refused to close the airspace; Germany, Italy, and Hungary blocked a proposal to cut Russia off from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), and Turkey refused to help in the Black Sea.”

    Ironically, Kapralov’s ongoing film project was set to be shot in Chernobyl, which was seized by Russian military forces on the first day of battle.

    “We made a decision to evacuate the project to Europe and shoot there,” Kapralov said. “I hope our plans come true. To do this, my team and I will need to travel to Europe. Preferably alive. We are all still currently in Ukraine,” he added.

    Kapralov, who is also a screenwriter and producer, has worked with some of Ukraine’s biggest names, including Ivanna Sakhno (‘Pacific Rim: Uprising’ and ‘High Fidelity’).

  • India abstains on UNSC resolution condemning Russia’s ‘aggression’ against Ukraine

    By PTI

    UNITED NATIONS: India abstained on a US-sponsored UN Security Council resolution that condemned Russia’s “aggression” against Ukraine and demanded “immediate, complete and unconditional” withdrawal of Russian forces from the neighbouring country.

    The UN Security Council voted on Friday on the draft resolution sponsored by the US and Albania and supported by several other nations including Poland, Italy, Germany, Estonia, Luxembourg and New Zealand.

    11 countries voted in favour of the resolution while three countries, including India, abstained. 

    A permanent member of the Security Council, Russia used its veto power blocking the resolution, as expected, but western nations said the resolution seeks to show Moscow’s isolation on the global stage for its invasion and actions against Ukraine.

    All eyes were on how India will cast its vote on the resolution given that New Delhi has strong defence ties with Moscow.

    During a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi “appealed for an immediate cessation of violence, and called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue.”

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to discuss Russia’s “premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack on Ukraine”, the State Department said.

    Blinken “stressed the importance of a strong collective response to condemn Russia’s invasion and call for an immediate withdrawal and ceasefire.”

    India has so far refrained from condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine and in a statement in the Security Council on Wednesday night, just as Putin ordered Ukraine’s invasion, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador TS Tirumurti expressed “deep concern” over the developments, which if not handled carefully, may well undermine the peace and security of the region.

    Ahead of the UNSC vote, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet that in a call to Jaishankar, he asked “India to use all influence in its relations with Russia to force it to cease military aggression against Ukraine. Urged India as a non-permanent UNSC member to support today’s draft resolution on restoring peace in Ukraine.”

    The resolution condemned Russia’s “aggression against Ukraine” and decides that Russia “shall immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine and shall refrain from any further unlawful threat or use of force against any UN member state.

    ” The resolution also said that Russia “shall immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.” The resolution said Moscow “shall immediately and unconditionally reverse the decision related to the status of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.”

    A senior Biden administration official had said a day before that Washington was putting forward the resolution “with every expectation that Russia will use its veto” and in doing so, “they will underscore their isolation.”

    “First, of course, we expect that Russia will use its veto. And in doing so, they will underscore their isolation. We’re not going to abandon our principles; we’re not going to stand by and do nothing. It’s important that we send a message to Ukraine, to Russia, and to the world that the Security Council will not look away,” the official said.

  • India steps up efforts to evacuate its nationals from Ukraine amid Russian military offensive

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India on Friday was grappling with complexities in evacuating its citizens from Ukraine through land border crossings in view of rapidly advancing Russian troops and chaotic ground situation as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the “predicament” of the stranded Indian nationals with his Ukrainian counterpart.

    Notwithstanding the difficult ground situation, India managed to set up camp offices in Lviv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine to facilitate the transit of Indians to Hungary, Romania and Poland, official sources said.

    India also positioned teams of officials at Zahony border post in Hungary, Krakowiec as well as Shehyni-Medyka land border points in Poland, Vysne Nemecke in the Slovak Republic and Suceava transit point in Romania to coordinate exit of Indian nationals from Ukraine, they said.

    External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the first batch of evacuees from Ukraine reached Romania via Suceava border crossing and Indian officials will now facilitate their travel to Bucharest for their onward journey to India.

    Bagchi also shared on Twitter visuals of Indians crossing the Romania-Ukraine border.

    Senior officials said Air India will operate two flights to the Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday to evacuate the Indians. More flights are likely to operate in the next few days.

    Earlier, the Indian embassy in Ukraine said over 470 students will exit Ukraine and enter Romania through the Porubne-Siret border on Friday and that it is moving them to neighbouring countries for onward evacuation.

    It said that the “massive evacuation” operation was organised through the joint efforts of Indian embassies in Ukraine, Poland, Romania and Hungary and that efforts are underway to relocate Indians coming in from the hinterland.

    As India stepped up efforts to evacuate around 16,000 of its citizens, mostly students, Jaishankar, during a phone conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed the predicament of the Indian nationals and appreciate his support for their safe return.

    “Received call from Ukrainian FM @DmytroKuleba. He shared his assessment of the current situation. I emphasised that India supports diplomacy & dialogue as the way out,” Jaishankar tweeted.

    “Discussed predicament of Indian nationals, including students. Appreciate his support for their safe return,” he added.

    India is trying to evacuate its nationals through Ukraine’s land borders with Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Ukrainian government closed the country’s airspace following the Russian military offensive.

    As concerns mounted in India over the well-being of its citizens, Russian diplomatic sources said the Indian nationals stuck in Ukraine should stay calm and remain wherever they are.

    The sources said President Vladimir Putin conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night that the Russian military operation in Ukraine does not represent any threat to the civilian population.

    In his telephonic conversation with Putin, the prime minister “sensitised” him about concerns over the safety of the Indian citizens in Ukraine and conveyed that India attaches the highest priority to their safe exit and return home, according to an official statement.

    A Russian readout said the President of Russia said that “necessary instructions would be given”.

    The sources said Russia will definitely extend assistance to India for the evacuation of its citizens from Ukraine if it receives any specific request.

    The Indian embassy in Ukraine appealed to the Indians to continue to remain “strong, safe and alert” in “this difficult” and assured them that the Indian government and the mission are working to establish evacuation routes.

    “Once above routes are operational, Indian nationals travelling by their own arrangements for transport would be advised to proceed to above border checkpoints, and remain in touch with the helpline numbers set up at respective checkpoints for facilitation through the border,” it said.

    It also advised Indians to paste printouts of the Indian flag prominently on vehicles and buses while travelling.

    The Indian embassies in Poland and Slovakia too issued separate advisories explaining details about their entry into these two countries.

    The Indian embassy in Poland asked Indian nationals arriving at the Poland-Ukraine border by bus or taxi to enter through the Shehyni-Medyka border crossing and not by the Krakowiec point.

    In a separate development, Russia said it expects support from India at the UN Security Council when the global body takes up a crucial resolution on the Russian military operation in Ukraine.

    Russia’s Charge d’affaires Roman Babushkin said India has a deep understanding of the reasons that led to the current situation in Ukraine and Moscow is looking for continued support from New Delhi in sync with the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two countries.

    The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on Friday evening on a draft resolution on Russia’s military operation in Ukraine as well as the escalating situation in the eastern European country.

    “We highly appreciate India’s deep understanding of the current situation as well as the reasons that led to it. We expect India to support Russia at the UN Security Council,” Babushkin told PTI.

    In another development, the heads of missions of European countries in India expressed solidarity with their Ukrainian counterpart, strongly condemning Russia’s “unprovoked and unjustified” military attack on Ukraine.

    The envoys held a meeting in New Delhi and extended their full support to Ukraine.

    Ambassador of the European Union to India and Bhutan Ugo Astuto said the EU and its member states stand in solidarity with Ukraine ambassador to India Igor Polikha.

  • EAM Jaishankar receives phone call from Ukrainian foreign minister

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Ahead of the crucial vote at the UN Security Council on the Russian attack on Ukraine, the country’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Friday spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and shared his assessment of the current situation in Ukraine.

    Jaishankar said he emphasised that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the “way out”. “Received call from Ukrainian FM @DmytroKuleba. He shared his assessment of the current situation. I emphasised that India supports diplomacy & dialogue as the way out,” Jaishankar tweeted.

    “Discussed predicament of Indian nationals, including students. Appreciate his support for their safe return,” he added.

    The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on Friday evening on a draft resolution on Russia’s military operation in Ukraine as well as the escalating situation in the eastern European country.

    The draft resolution is set to condemn in the strongest terms Russia’s military operation in Ukraine that has triggered strong outrage by the Western powers.

    When asked at a media briefing on Thursday about India’s position on the draft UN Security resolution on the Ukraine crisis, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India has seen it and that New Delhi’s stand will depend on the final shape of its text.

    “I am told that that would undergo considerable changes. We will wait to see the shape that the resolution takes before we can pronounce ourselves and the position that we will take on the issue,” he said.

    In the midst of the escalating situation in Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday during which he appealed for ending violence, and called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic dialogue.

    Jaishankar too held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and underlined that dialogue and diplomacy are the best way forward to deal with the crisis.

  • Russia-Ukraine conflict: Sitharaman says India’s development challenged as world peace threatened

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: In the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that never has the globe peace faced challenges of this significance since World War-II, and India’s development is “challenged” by the recent events.

    She said human welfare needs a conducive environment without any disruptions or disturbances to make the post-pandemic economic recovery sustainable.

    “India’s development is going to be challenged by the newer challenges emanating in the world. Peace is being threatened and after the Second World War, (a) war of this significance, this impact, on the globe probably is not felt,” Sitharaman said.

    She was speaking at the annual Asia Economic Dialogue organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and think-tank Pune International Centre.

    “Hopefully, some kind of restoration of peace at the earliest will happen, based on which, recoveries can be sustainable,” she added.

    Fearing that the economic recovery not just in India but across the world will be “severely hampered”, Sitharaman said the welfare of humanity requires the recovery to be sustainable without facing any disruptions.

    The comments come a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military offensive against its neighbour Ukraine by attacking the eastern European country from multiple sides.

  • Cabinet Committee on Security likely to meet again on Saturday amid Ukraine war 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is likely to meet again on Saturday amid the Russian offensive against Ukraine, sources in the government said.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chaired a meeting of the CCS on Thursday night after Russia launched its attack on Ukraine.

    He also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and called for an immediate cessation of violence while stressing that India attaches the highest priority to the safe exit and return of its citizens from Ukraine.

    The proposed meet of the key cabinet panel comes amid New Delhi’s efforts to evacuate Indian citizens from the battle zone.

    Besides the prime minister, the defence minister, the home minister, the external affairs minister and the finance minister are part of the CCS. Top officials of the security apparatus are also called to attend CCS meet.

  • Ukraine crisis: PM Modi speaks to Putin, calls for immediate cessation of violence

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine conflict and appealed for immediate cessation of violence as well as concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations.

    During their telephonic conversation, President Putin briefed Prime Minister Modi about the recent developments regarding Ukraine, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

    The prime minister reiterated his long-standing conviction that the differences between Russia and the NATO group can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue, the PMO said.

    Prime Minister Modi appealed for an immediate cessation of violence, and called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue, it said.

    Modi also sensitised the Russian President about India’s concerns regarding the safety of the Indian citizens in Ukraine, especially students, and conveyed that India attaches the highest priority to their safe exit and return.

    The leaders agreed that their officials and diplomatic teams would continue to maintain regular contacts on issues of topical interest, the PMO said.

  • We will take all possible steps to bring back Indians from Ukraine: Shringla

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India on Thursday assured its citizens stranded in Ukraine that it will take all possible steps to bring them back safe and sound.

    Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said at a media briefing that the Indian embassy in Ukraine is extending all possible assistance to the Indians notwithstanding the complicated situation.

    He said a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by PM Narendra Modi, was underway on the Ukraine crisis.

    Shringla said Modi conveyed at the CCS meeting that the topmost priority of the government is the safety and security of Indians and their evacuation from Ukraine.

    The foreign secretary said around 4,000 Indian nationals out of 20,000 have already left Ukraine in the past few days.

    “The situation on the ground is difficult and rapidly evolving,” he said.

    “I want to assure all Indian citizens including students in Ukraine that we will take all possible steps to bring you back safe and sound,” he said.

    Shringla said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will speak to foreign ministers of Romania, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary on the Ukraine crisis.

  • Large number of Indian students turn up outside embassy in Kyiv

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A large number of Indian students in Ukraine on Thursday turned up outside the Indian embassy in Kyiv seeking assistance after Russia launched a military operation targeting several Ukrainian cities.

    The students demanded the embassy to ensure their safety and security.

    Government sources said the embassy organised “safe premises for the students nearby and the students were moved in there”.

    They said the process took some time given the ground situation in Kyiv. “No Indian national is currently stranded outside the embassy. As fresh students arrive, they are being moved to the safe premises,” said a source.

    The embassy said around 200 Indian students were provided shelter.

    Indian ambassador to Ukraine Partha Satpathy later interacted with the Indian students and assured all possible assistance.

    “It has been a very anxious day for you all. We heard that your flight is cancelled and realised that all of you are here. And as you know martial law has been imposed and too many people cannot be together,” he said.

    “So we took a conscious decision to keep you outside for authorities to see the numbers,” he said adding that led to the negotiations and eventually the place for their accommodation.

    The sources said the Indian embassy is continuing to assist Indian nationals, including students, in Ukraine.

    Currently, 20,000 Indians, mostly students, are stranded in Ukraine.