News Analysis India

Tag: Ukraine Invasion

  • Problems, disagreements best resolved through dialogue: Dalai Lama on Ukraine crisis

    By PTI

    DHARAMSHALA: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Monday expressed anguish over the Ukraine crisis, and said that problems and disagreements are best resolved through dialogue.

    War is outdated and non-violence is the only way, the Nobel peace prize winner said on the Russian offensive in Ukraine.

    In a statement issued here, he said, “I have been deeply saddened by the conflict in Ukraine. Our world has become so interdependent that violent conflict between two countries inevitably impacts the rest of the word. War is outdated, non-violence is the only way. We need to develop a sense of the oneness of humanity by considering other human beings as brothers and sisters. This is how we will build a more peaceful world.”

    “Problems and disagreements are best resolved through dialogue. Genuine peace comes about through mutual understanding and respect for each other’s wellbeing,” the Dalai Lama said.

    Hoping that peace is swiftly restored in Ukraine, he said, “We must not lose hope. The 20th century was a century of war and bloodshed. The 21st century must be a century of dialogue.”

  • Rock band Green Day cancels Moscow concert due to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: American rock band Green Day has decided to cancel its upcoming concert in Moscow in the wake of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

    The announcement was shared on Green Day’s official Instagram account.

    “With heavy hearts, in light of current events we feel it is necessary to cancel our upcoming show in Moscow at Spartak Stadium. We are aware that this moment is not about stadium rock shows, it’s much bigger than that,” the band explained.

    The Moscow concert was earlier scheduled for May 29.

    “But we also know that rock and roll is forever and we feel confident there will be a time and a place for us to return in the future. Refunds available at the point of purchase. Stay safe,” the band, which was formed in 1987 by Billie Joe Armstrong (lead vocalist and guitarist) and Mike Dirnt (backing vocalist and bassist), added.

    On Friday, pop act AJR had nixed its Moscow concert slated for October in light of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. 

  • Indian students claim thrashing by Ukraine guards as India abstains on UN vote on Ukraine invasion

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  There has been growing distress calls from Indian students stuck at Ukraine-Poland border claiming that they were ‘manhandled’ and ‘ill-treated’ by the Ukrainian security personnel allegedly because India did not condemn the Russian invasion at the UN Security Council.

    Many of these students, who were stuck for over 72 hours in freezing cold conditions, alleged that they were kicked, beaten up, dragged and some even had their phones snatched from them. According to Sandeep Kaur, the Ukrainians were earlier allowing some students to cross but later stopped them from entering Poland. 

    “I was waiting along with my brother and some of our friends in a group. First, the officials asked us to stand in a line and we did. Later they asked the girls to make a separate line… They then let me cross the border while my brother waited on the other side. When my brother said that he too is in the queue, they dragged and beat him with a baton,” Kaur told this correspondent.

    The student rued that there was none from the Indian Embassy to coordinate with the Ukrainian authorities at the border. “After we crossed the Poland border, we met Indian embassy officials but there was none on the Ukrainian side. Boys on the Ukrainian side have been manhandled badly. Now my brother is returning to his college hostel along with his friends as the situation has worsened.”

    When contacted regarding the incidents, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi declined to comment. According to Monisha Kalburgi, a student of Lviv National Medical University, some of her friends returned from the Poland border. Ukrainian personnel are unhappy that India favoured Russia, she claimed, adding that this was the reason for the ill-treatment.

    Another student told this newspaper, “We left at 4 am in the morning from Ternopil. The Indian Embassy had informed that Poland border is open and we can leave, but at the border we were stopped by the Ukrainian Army.”  “The temperature is three degrees. People are falling sick. When we called the Polish embassy, they asked us to call the Kiev Embassy which told us to coordinate with the Polish Embassy,” another student said. 

    ‘No one from embassy to coordinate’ The student rued that there was none from the Indian Embassy to coordinate with the Ukrainian authorities at the border. When contacted regarding the incidents, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi declined to comment

  • Embattled and under siege, Ukraine fights back bravely

    By Express News Service

    Russian troops continued to advance through major Ukrainian cities for the third day running on Saturday but capital Kyiv hasn’t fallen yet. A defiant president Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed his forces have ‘derailed’ Russia’s invasion plan, adding that the real fight is still unfolding. 

    Russia’s fight for Kyiv is likely to be protracted with Ukraine set to get emergency supplies of arms and ammunition from allies. On Saturday, the Czech Republic said it will donate machine guns, assault and sniper rifles, pistols and ammunition valued at 7.6 million euros ($8.6 million). Czech defence minister Jana Cernochova said the consignment would comprise 30,000 pistols, 7,000 assault rifles, 3,000 machine guns, several dozen sniper guns and a million cartridges. 

    Explosions were heard in and around Kyiv on Saturday as residents of the city braced to spend a second night in bomb shelters and underground metro stations. In a video message posted on Saturday, Zelenskyy accused Russia of hitting infrastructure and civilian targets. Moscow maintained that it was only hitting military targets, but bridges, schools and residential neighborhoods have been hit ever since the invasion began on Thursday, accompanied by air and missile strikes. 

    According to Ukraine’s health minister, 198 people, including three children, have been killed and more than 1,000 others have been wounded. It is, however, unclear if the figure includes both military and civilian casualties.

    Associated Press reported that a Russian missile struck a high-rise in the southwestern outskirts near one of Kyiv’s two passenger airports, leaving a hole of ravaged apartments over several floors. A rescue worker said six civilians were injured.

    The conflict has driven thousands of Ukrainians from their homes in search of safety. According to UN officials, more than 120,000 Ukrainians have left the country for Poland, Moldova and other neighbouring nations.

    Russia started its militray action against Ukraine after massing up to two lakh troops along the country’s borders. In a televised address last week, he claimed the West failed to take seriously Russia’s security concerns about NATO, the Western military alliance that Ukraine aspires to join.

    Make in India, don’t go abroad

    Noting that Indian students have been going to other countries for medical education, PM Narendra Modi has urged the private sector to help set up medical colleges so that students don’t go abroad.

    The ‘Tank Man’ of Ukraine

    A video has gone viral. It shows a man standing in front of a column of Russian tanks in order to block their path, most possibly in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It reminded viewers of the famous photo from China’s Tiananmen Square, where a person had stood before tanks deployed to quell a protest in 1989.

    Not going down without a fight

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been putting up a brave front. He has turned down an offer from the US to evacuate. “The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride,” he said, according to a report.