For the first time in nearly nine months of war, Russia said Thursday that Indian students who had to flee Ukraine because of the war could continue the rest of their education in Russia if they wished — because the medical curriculum in both countries was the same. “Indian students who left Ukraine can continue their studies in Russia because the medical curriculum is almost the same (as in Ukraine). They know the language of the people because in Ukraine most of them speak Russian. They are very welcome in Russia,” said the Russian Consul General Oleg Avdeyev, who was quoted by the news agency.
Thousands of Indian medical students were left stranded in war-torn Ukraine as Russia launched a full-scale war with its neighbor on February 24. Then the Indian government conducted “Operation Ganges” to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. Avdeyev’s comment came as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday and discussed a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of common concern in Moscow. “India’s relationship with Russia has worked to its advantage and Delhi would like to continue this,” EAM Jaishankar said during his visit to Moscow.
India has consistently called for an end to the fighting in Ukraine and pushed for dialogue. She also repeatedly drew attention to the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on food and energy prices, especially for vulnerable countries. However, the Indian side did not vote against Russia at the UN and has so far refrained from publicly condemning Putin for the invasion launched in February.
