CM condoles student's death, 'ready to support evac efforts'

New Delhi: After a 21-year-old Indian student from Karnataka, Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, was killed in Ukraine's Kharkiv, amid Russia's invasion, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal condoled the death and prayed for his family in Haveri district's Chalageri town even as Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said he was "deeply hurt" by this disturbing update with both of them urging the Union government to expedite the evacuation process from the war-torn country.

Significantly, CM Kejriwal had earlier in the day tweeted his concern for the Indian nationals stuck in Ukraine, saying, "The Delhi government stands with the Central government for any kind of cooperation."

He had said, "Amidst the deteriorating situation in Ukraine, other Indians including Indian students are also facing difficult situations. The government of India is requested to bring all Indians trapped in Ukraine to India at the earliest and we are ready to provide all possible support."

After the news of Naveen's death was confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs, the CM said, "Feel terrible to hear this news. Prayers for his family. Pray for the safety of all other Indians stranded and hope they will be back home soon. Hope the conflict will soon come to an end."

Meanwhile, Dy CM Sisodia also condoled the death of the medical student, who was stuck with his mates in a bunker in Kharkiv for 5 days and was killed as he stepped up to restock on food for them. He said, "Deeply hurt by this news. Every single student from Ukraine must be brought

back. We can't afford to leave our students stranded in Ukraine any longer."

According to the latest briefing as of Tuesday night, more than 8,000 Indian nationals

are still stuck in Ukraine — half of them in cities like Kharkiv and Sumy, where Russian attacks have escalated rapidly since March 1.