Maintain calm, remain safe wherever you are: Indian embassy in Ukraine to Indians
New Delhi(PTI): The Indian embassy in Ukraine on Thursday asked Indians in that country to maintain calm and remain safe wherever they are.
The Indian embassy issued a fresh advisory as Russia carries out a military operation in Ukraine, triggering a major confrontation between the two sides.
"The present situation in Ukraine is highly uncertain. Please maintain calm and remain safe wherever you are, be it in your homes, hostels, accommodations or in transit," the Indian embassy said.
"All those who are travelling to Kyiv, including those travelling from western parts of Kyiv, are advised to return to their respective cities. temporarily, especially towards safer places along the western bordering countries," it said.
It said further advisories will be issued for any updates.
Official sources in New Delhi said India is looking at ways to assist its nationals, especially the students, in Ukraine. They said India is closely monitoring the "rapidly changing" situation in Ukraine and how to assist the Indians in that country.
"We are closely monitoring the rapidly changing situation. Focus is on safety and security of Indians, particularly students," said a source.
It said the control room set by the Ministry of External Affairs a few days back is being expanded and made operational on a 24x7 basis.
There is no possibility of sending special aircraft to Ukraine to evacuate the Indians including the Indian embassy staff as the airspace of Ukraine has been closed. Ukraine closed its airspace to civilian flights in view of high risk to safety.
"The government is looking at ways to extend assistance to Indians there," said a source.
According to estimates, over 15,000 Indians are currently staying in Ukraine.
It is learnt that a series of meetings are underway to assess the situation and ways to extend assistance to Indians in that country.
The situation in Ukraine deteriorated after President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation into Ukraine, triggering serious concerns over the possibility of a full-scale military confrontation between the two countries.
Following Putin's announcement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said an "invasion" could be the beginning of a "big war" in Europe.
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Prasidh, Kuldeep limit South Africa to 270 after De Kock's hundred
Visakhapatnam (PTI): India fought back gallantly through Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav after Quinton de Kock struck his 23rd hundred, keeping South Africa to a manageable 270 in the third and series-deciding final ODI, here Saturday.
India won the toss after judging the spin of the coin incorrectly 20 times in a row. They had little hesitation in inserting the Proteas into bat, a clear indication of dew factor dominating the thought.
After Arshdeep Singh sent back Ryan Rickelton early, De Kock (106, 89b, 8x4, 6x4) struck his seventh century against India and put on 113 runs off 124 balls with skipper Temba Bavuma (48, 67b) as the visitors moved to a healthy position.
De Kock was severe on Prasidh (4/66), who erred on length continuously in his first spell (2-0-27-0). The left-hander biffed the pacer for 6, 6, 4 in his second over to milk 18 runs.
The 32-year-old quickly pounced on anything that was short, and pacers Prasidh and Harshit offered him plenty of feed on his pet areas.
Bavuma was more sedate, and made runs through those typical dabs and jabs, occasionally unfurling a drive of elan.
De Kock moved to fifty in 42 balls, and never let the tempo down reaching his hundred in 79 balls.
India found temporary relief when Ravindra Jadeja induced a false slash from Bavuma to get caught by Virat Kohli at point.
The tourists got another move on through a 54-run partnership between De Kock and Matthew Breetzkle for the third wicket, and at 168 for two in 28 overs they were in a good position to press on.
But Breetzke's punishment of part-time spinner Tilak Varma forced a rethink in the Indian camp, as skipper KL Rahul brought back Prasidh for a second spell.
What a masterstroke it turned out to be! The Karnataka man broke the back of South Africa’s top and middle order in an exceptional second spell (4-0-11-3).
Breetzke was the first man to go, trapped plumb in front with a straight one and four balls later Aiden Markram uppishly chipped a fuller delivery to Kohli at short covers.
Prasidh soon castled De Kock, whose ugly cross-batted swipe failed to connect a full length delivery from the pacer.
All of a sudden, SA found themselves at a shaky 199 for five, losing three wickets in the space of three overs.
Once Prasidh was done away with the top and middle-order, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep (4/41) took over and mopped up the tail as SA fell short of even a par total on this track.
