A 21-year-old medical student from Karnataka has died in Kharkiv becoming the first Indian casualty of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Arindam Bagchi, Spokesperson of India's Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the student's death stating that he died in the Russian shelling of the city. The MEA added that Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla has spoken to the Russian and Ukrainian demanding safe passage for Indian nationals who are still in Ukraine.
The deceased student has been identified as Naveen Shekharappa of Chalageri in Karnataka, a fourth-year medical student at the Kharkiv National Medical University in Kharkiv.
According to reports, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai spoke with Naveen's father and assured him that the government would ensure Naveen's body is brought back to India.
Sridharan Gopalakrishnan, Naveen's hostel mate, told the Indian Express that Naveen had gone to buy groceries when he was shot dead.
"Naveen was shot dead around 10.30 am Ukrainian time today. He was standing in the queue before a grocery shop when the Russian army fired at people. We have no information about his body. None of us was able to visit the hospital, probably where it is kept now," Gopalakrishnan told Indian Express.
Kharkiv is the second-largest city in and is situated close to the Russian border in Ukraine's north east.
An estimated 18,000 Indians have been stranded in Ukraine and are awaiting the India embassy's help to be evacuated.
The capital city of Kyiv, and other major cities Kharkiv and Odesa, have witnessed blasts since the day of the attack. Students were forced to take shelter in bunkers and underground metro stations.
"We sat in silence under the light of a candle, away from the windows, taking cover in kitchens and bathrooms as we heard repeated blasts and firing on the streets. There was also news of Russian soldiers being caught on the streets by the Ukrainian military forces and civilians. We asked the embassy about their evacuation plans for Odesa. We were advised to stay indoors for safety. To be evacuated, we had to travel to one of the listed borders at our own risk," 23-year-old Deepika Gulati, an MBBS student in Odesa, told BOOM.
The Indian government, as part of Operation Ganga, is looking to evacuate Indian nationals through Romania, Poland, Hungary, Moldova, and Slovak Republic. None of the students we spoke to could confirm entry of students through the Ukraine-Slovak border.