During their video call on Wednesday, Putin said he had ordered Russian soldiers "to ensure the safe exit of Indian nationals from the armed conflict zone and their return to their homeland," according to a Kremlin statement.
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India denies students taken ["]hostage["]
Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry on Wednesday said the Ukrainian authorities were holding a group of Indian students by force.
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India's foreign ministry said it was in constant touch with Indian nationals in Ukraine, reports added.

"We have not received reports of any hostage situation regarding any student. We have requested support of the Ukrainian authorities in arranging special trains for taking out students from Kharkiv and neighbouring areas to the western part of the country," India's foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
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India abstains from UNGA vote
Also on Wednesday [2 Mar], India abstained from voting at a landmark United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) which overwhelmingly adopted a resolution asking Russia to "immediately" withdraw from Ukraine.

CRISTOFOROU: Alright. India, this is a big game changer India holds that goes to this system. We've talked about the Quad, which seems like it's fizzled out. And it seems the Quad didn't give India the respect that it deserves. Is this India's moment? I mean, is India now going to be a great power? I mean it is a great power, but it didn't seem that it was a the same level as China or the US. Is the moment, when India says, we are, we're breaking from this current system, and we're going to move to this new system? How do you see things? Because we've got news that the US is thinking about sanctioning India. They're saying, it's not related to this stuff. They're saying, it's related to weapons sales. But it is related to the fact that India has not voted the Biden White House had hoped they would vote. Is this India's moment? This is really, really big news [...] What are your thoughts?
MERCOURIS: I think, this could very well be India's big momment. It would be the moment, when India establishes itself as a great power, because what the Indians are saying is, Look, our foreign policy's not made for us in Washington. We make our own foreign policy. We take the decisions. You are not going to dictate to us. And if the United States goes down the route to sanction India, well, all I can say is, that is an act of pure, unadulterated folly. Now, I've been reading. I should say, I'm not hugely well-informed about India's domestic politics but I've been reading those Indian sites that are accessible to me and which, you know, India media and they've been either even-handed or basically, sympathetic to the Russians. I think that India has a foreign policy which is it's own foreign policy. It has a very close, historic relationship with Russia. [BWAH!] The two countries get on. They have a difficult relationship with China, but I think, the Indians don't feel that they want to get into an issue with China simply because the United States has issues with China. ...