NEW DELHI, 16 March 2022, (TON): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said “Indian students were positively discouraged by universities in Ukraine from leaving.”

In his statement on the situation in the war-torn country, he said that 22,500 Indian citizens have returned safely from Ukraine.

Mr Jaishankar said "despite our efforts, however, a large majority of students elected to continue staying in Ukraine. We must understand the predicament in this regard.”

He said “there was natural reluctance to leave the educational institutions and affect the studies. Some universities actively discourage and showed reluctance to offer online courses. Many of them received conflicting advice regarding safety.”

He added that in the period leading to February 24, the political signals were confusing as well.

Mr Jaishankar said "public urgings not to be taken by alarmism and reports of force withdrawal created a confusing picture. The net result was that about 18,000 Indian nationals were caught in the midst of conflict when it started.”