New Delhi, March 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and sought his continued support in the ongoing efforts to evacuate of Indian nationals from Sumy. The telephone call lasted for about 35 minutes in which the two leaders discussed the evolving situation in Ukraine, government sources said. Modi appreciated the continuing direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. He thanked Zelensky for the help extended by his government in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine, the sources said. Modi sought continued support from Ukraine in the ongoing efforts to evacuate Indian nationals from Sumy, they added. The Prime Minister will also hold telephonic conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday afternoon, official sources said. The Indian Embassy in Kyiv said on Sunday that its team is stationed in Poltava city to coordinate the safe passage of Indian students stranded in Sumy to western borders via Poltava for which a confirmed time and date will be issued soon. The embassy also asked the students to be ready to leave on short notice. Meanwhile, Russia has declared a ceasefire in Ukraine from 12:30 PM (IST) to open humanitarian corridors for stranded foreigners. RN ASU MR New Delhi, March 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday discussed the situation in Ukraine and the Indian leader sought Zelensky’s continued support in evacuating Indians from the war-hit country. The telephone call lasted for about 35 minutes, official sources said. Besides discussing the evolving situation in Ukraine, the Prime Minister appreciated the continuing direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. Modi thanked Zelensky for the help extended by the Ukraine government in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine and sought his continued support “in the ongoing efforts for evacuation of Indian nationals from Sumy”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the evolving situation in Ukraine, and thanked him for the help extended in the evacuation of Indian nationals. In their second phone call since the Russia-Ukraine crisis, PM Modi sought continued support from the Government of Ukraine in the ongoing efforts for evacuation of Indian nationals stranded in Sumy, the sources said. PM Modi also appreciated the continuing direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine, the sources added. The phone call lasted for around 35 minutes. The two leaders had last spoken on February 26, two days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The phone call comes as nearly 16,000 Indians have been evacuated so far as part of Operation Ganga from war-hit Ukraine. The Indian Embassy in Ukraine is set to evacuate the 500 plus students stranded in Sumy via the city of Poltava. Russia on Monday agreed to hold its fire and open new humanitarian corridors across multiple Ukrainian cities on Monday to allow civilians to evacuate.Evacuation routes would be set up in the capital Kyiv, as well as Kharkiv, Mariupol and Sumy. RN
