Ukraine crisis: PM Modi chairs meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security

New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Thursday evening as the crisis between Russia and Ukraine intensified into conflict.Sources said that PM Modi is likely to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin while External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar is expected to speak to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.Though the outcome of the meeting was not shared, it is assumed that Prime Minister Modi was briefed about the present situation in Ukraine and also about the Indians including students who have been stuck there.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Home Minister Amit Shah, and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar were seen in the meeting as well as Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Hardeep Singh Puri, though the duo were not part of the the CCS. Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, P.K. Mishra and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were also present in the meeting.Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine shared a list of temporary bomb shelters created by the local administration with stranded Indian students.Earlier in the day, Indian Ambassador to Ukraine Partha Satpathy said the situation is "highly tense and very uncertain, and this of course is causing a lot of anxiety"."I am reaching out to you from Kyiv. Today early morning, we all woke up to the news that Ukraine is under attack," Satpathy said. The air space is closed, railway schedules are in flux and roads are crammed, he said, requesting everyone to "stay calm and face the situation with fortitude".The Indian embassy continues to remain open and operate in Kyiv.The Ambassador has urged the Indian nationals to stay wherever they are, in their familiar locations. "Those who are in transit, please return to your familiar places of habitation. Those who are stranded here in Kyiv, please get in touch with your friends and colleagues in Kyiv, universities and other community members, so that you can temporarily lodge there."
--IANS ams/vd

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