Hindustan Times News | 2nd March 2022 | 6 PM

HT Daily News Wrap

Ukrainian President says Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities, Russia is working to place humanitarian corridor for safe evacuation of Indian nationals, BharatPe has removed Co-Founder Ashneer Grover from all positions and other top news in this bulletin.
With Operation Ganga in full swing on Ukraine’s western borders, the Narendra Modi government is in constant touch with Moscow to give safe passage to Indian students stranded in Kharkiv and Sumy warzones and allow evacuation through the eastern border with Russia. A Russian speaking team from the Indian embassy in Moscow has been parked in Belgorod, which is close to both war-hit cities of Ukraine, for the past few days and evacuation through Russian diplomatic channels are being worked out at the highest levels. According to ballpark figures available, due to the fullest cooperation of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, and Romania governments, as many as 13000 Indians have been evacuated out of Ukraine through the western borders with another 3000 making their way to the Ukraine war zone to safety. Around 4,000 Indian students are stuck in Kharkiv and Sumy, where the Russian military offensive is on with Putin’s forces trying to encircle the key cities of Ukraine in a typical World War II operation.

Two days after an emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly was convened – and over 100 countries gathered to discuss Russia’s war on Ukraine – the global body is set to vote on a non-binding resolution demanding Moscow withdraws its troops. A draft resolution – seen by some diplomats as a key test of democracy in a world increasingly run by autocratic governments – is being prepared and will likely be presented later today. On paper the non-binding (and that is important) resolution will serve as a powerful rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ‘sinister vision for the future of the world. The resolution must be approved by a two-thirds majority to pass. The good news for Ukraine is that the General Assembly resolution – unlike the one tabled by the Security Council – cannot be vetoed by Russia, and will likely be supported by an overwhelming majority of the 193-member strong body.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities before meaningful talks on a ceasefire could start, as a first round of negotiations this week had yielded scant progress. Speaking in an interview in a heavily guarded government compound, Zelenskyy urged NATO members to impose a no fly zone to stop the Russian air force, saying this would be a preventative measure and not meant to drag the alliance into war with Russia. Zelenskyy, who has refused offers to leave the Ukrainian capital as Russian forces advanced, also said Ukraine would demand legally binding security guarantees if NATO shut the door on Ukraine’s membership prospects. Setting out his conditions for further talks with Russia, Zelenskyy told Reuters and CNN in a joint interview: “It’s necessary to at least stop bombing people, just stop the bombing and then sit down at the negotiating table.”

Russia is working to put in place “humanitarian corridors” for the safe evacuation of Indian nationals stranded in conflict zones in eastern Ukraine and will conduct an investigation into the death of an Indian student in Kharkiv, Russian ambassador-designate Denis Alipov said on Wednesday. The evacuation of some 4,000 Indians stuck in Kharkiv, Sumy and other conflict zones in eastern Ukraine has become the top priority of the Indian government following the death of 21-year-old medical student Naveen Shekharappa Gyandagoudar on Tuesday.  The Russian side hopes to have humanitarian corridors in place “as soon as possible” so that Indians in these conflict zones can be moved to Russian territory, Alipov told a virtual briefing. The Russian side also intends to stop the military operations in Ukraine as soon as possible as the situation is a “tragedy” for both countries, he added. The ambassador-designate also said ongoing defence contracts and trade between India and Russia wouldn’t be affected by sanctions imposed by the US and its allies and partners as Moscow and Delhi have put in place “mechanisms of cooperation and transactions that are independent of Western financial mechanisms”. Alipov particularly said Russia’s deliveries of five regiments of S-400 air defence systems would not be hit by the sanctions. The Russian side delivered the first regiment at the end of last year, coinciding with a visit to New Delhi by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Fintech firm BharatPe on Wednesday said it has removed Co-Founder Ashneer Grover from all positions at the company. BharatPe has also found involvement of Grover family and relatives in extensive misappropriation of the company’s funds. “The board will not allow the deplorable conduct of the Grover family to tarnish BharatPe’ s reputation or that of its hard-working employees and world-class technology. As a result of his misdeeds, Grover is no longer an employee, a founder, or a director of the company,” BharatePe said in a statement on Wednesday. Grover resigned from the post of Managing Director on Tuesday. According to the statement, Grover family and their relatives engaged in extensive misappropriation of company funds, including, but not limited to, creating fake vendors through which they siphoned money away from the company’s account and grossly abused company expense accounts in order to enrich themselves and fund their lavish lifestyles, it said.