On Ukraine war, foreign minister to make a statement tomorrow in parliament

Foreign minister S Jaishankar will make a statement on Tuesday on the Ukraine war in parliament. The war has entered the third week with Russia's offensive continuing for the 19th day. Thousands of Indians have returned to their homes from the conflict-hit nation since Moscow began its surprise attacks on February 24. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held yet another high-level meeting on the crisis. The government had launched a special operation last month to bring back citizens to safety after the Ukrainian airspace was closed. Special flights were arranged from the countries bordering Ukraine - Poland, Slovak Republic, Hungary and Romania - to fly back thousands of people.
The budget session of parliament resumed on Monday after a month-long break. On Sunday, the Congress's Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, had said that his party will raise the concerns of medical students returning from Ukraine in the budget session. He made the statement after he and other Congress MPs met Sonia Gandhi to discuss the parliament agenda.
Several poltiical leaders - including Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin - have appealed to the government to allow the students returning from Ukraine to continue their studies in India.
PM Modi earlier spoke to Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the crisis.
Despite global sanctions, protests and appeals, Moscow continues advancing in the key cities of Ukraine. On Sunday, 59 people died when a military base was targeted near the border with Poland in signs that the NATO nations are also at risk. Zelensky has been making repeated appeals to the West to close the airspace to stop the bombing.