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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New Delhi, Nov 21: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday launched the Karnataka Milk Federation's (KMF) Nandini brand milk products in the Delhi-NCR market, pricing them marginally lower than competitors to gain a foothold in the region.

The cooperative will retail four cow milk variants, curd, and buttermilk from Friday, with competitive pricing that undercuts established players like Mother Dairy and Amul.

Cow milk will be sold at Rs 56 per litre, full Cream Milk at Rs 67 per litre, Standardised Milk at Rs 61 per litre, Toned Milk at Rs 55 per litre, and curd at Rs 74 per kg.

"We have surplus milk in the state. KMF along with Mandya Milk Union will market surplus milk of 3-4 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR," Siddaramaiah told reporters after launching the products.

The federation currently collects 100 lakh litres of milk daily, with local consumption at 60 lakh litres, leaving a surplus of 40 lakh litres for expansion into new markets.

However, the Chief Minister acknowledged the challenges of transporting milk over 2,500 km, which takes 50-54 hours.

There is a need to find new markets for surplus milk and gradually the KMF should be able to sell 5-6 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR, he added.

KMF Chairman LBP Bheemanaik assured that milk quality would be maintained during transit.

The federation has already partnered with 40 dealers in the Delhi-NCR region to facilitate sales, he added.

With a robust infrastructure of 26.76 lakh milk producers, 15,737 dairy cooperative societies, and 15 district milk unions, KMF has a turnover of Rs 25,000 crore and exports dairy products to over 25 countries.

State Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh and Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy were present at the product launch.