The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday said that nearly 17,000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine's border since the first travel advisory was issued by the Indian Embassy in Kyiv and as many as 15 flights were scheduled over the next 24 hours. Regarding today's advisories to Indian nationals, he said that India has been in communication with the Russian side regarding the safe passage of our nationals from Kharkiv and other nearby cities.

Yadav was among nearly 200 Indian students who had just landed in New Delhi from Poland on Wednesday after trying for days to escape the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began last Thursday, forcing nearly 20,000 Indian students to flee the former Soviet nation.

"The Ukraine military was only letting the Ukrainians and Europeans across the border," Chahat told Al Jazeera as she held a bouquet of red flowers handed to those returning from Ukraine by Indian authorities at the airport. "But I don't know why Indians were being stopped and pushed back," the young student said, alleging many Indians were beaten by the Ukrainian forces as they tried to cross the border.

In the history of accepting refugees, countries have shown more than an erratic streak.  Universal human characteristics have often been overlooked in favour of the particular: race, cultural habits, religion.  Even immigration nations, such as the United States and Australia, have had their xenophobic twists and turns on the issue of who to accept, be they victims of pogroms, war crimes, genocide, or famine. ...