Thiruvananthapuram, February 25: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday wrote a letter to the Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asking him to ensure the safety of Indian students and requested to make necessary arrangements for their return by arranging special flights.

According to the Kerala CM, there are 2,320 students from Kerala in Ukraine. He also urged the MEA to take immediate steps for the repatriation of the students. Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Call Center Established to Help Students Stranded in Ukraine, Chhattisgarh Govt in Constant Touch With Centre, Says CM Bhupesh Baghel.

Taking to Twitter, CM Vijayan wrote, "Sent a letter to Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for immediate intervention to ensure the safety of Indian students in Ukraine of which 2,320 are Malayalees. Demanded that steps be taken to repatriate them as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on Thursday slammed the Centre for not making timely arrangements to bring back the Indian students stuck in Ukraine.

"Turning your face away in every difficult time.. and keeping silence has become a habit of the Modi government. Our 20,000 Indian youth in Ukraine are forced to grapple with fear, apprehension and life-threatening situations.

Why didn't you make arrangements to bring them safely in time? Is this the 'self-reliant' mission?," said Surjewala in a tweet.

Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) on Thursday landed at the Delhi airport at around 7:45 am carrying 182 Indian nationals, mostly students. Amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, several airlines are operating special flights, including Air India, to bring back Indian nationals safely.

The Ministry of External Affairs is currently holding high-level meetings, sources said on Thursday as the situation continues to escalate near the Ukrainian border after Russia launched its military operations in the Donbas region.

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