Russia-Ukraine crisis: India warns it “cannot afford military escalation” and urges all parties to exercise prudence

            The increase of tensions at the Russia-Ukraine border is deeply concerning, India has urged the United Nations Security Council. India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador TS Tirumurti, stated this during an emergency UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Ukraine on Monday night. India urged all parties to exercise prudence and de-escalate tensions. “The escalation of tensions along Ukraine’s border with the Russian Federation is deeply concerning”.

According to India’s ambassador to Ukraine, Tirumurti, more than 20,000 Indian students and nationals reside and study in various sections of Ukraine, including border areas. The Russia-Ukraine situation reached a boiling point as Russian President Vladimir Putin issued two decrees recognising the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) as independent and sovereign entities. Putin stated that it is just a “matter of time” until NATO accepts Ukraine as a member state and builds bases on its territory, raising the degree of military threats to Russia considerably.