Amid the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the Art of Living organisation has been helping Indian students and other refugees to evacuate to safety.
In line with the Indian government's Operation Ganga to evacuate Indian nations from the war-torn country, the organisation said that it has helped nearly 1,200 students to evacuate to safety.
An Indian student who crossed over to Poland with Art of Living's help, thanked the founder, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar over video call and said, "The situation is not good. People are not treating us equally. We have just crossed the border; the journey was long but there were so many people helping us. I thank you guys (Art of Living) for helping us."
Swami Jyothirmaya, Director of Art of Living Europe informed that to date, the organisation has helped 420 refugees in Poland and has also delivered medical supplies to Ukraine.
"I am in Ukraine-Poland border. We are accommodating 500 refugees in our Ashram here. Our volunteers are also accomodating people in their houses. The same is happening in Hungary," he said.
The organisation has arranged for mattresses, blankets for the refugees in their Taraska centre.
Two buses have also been rented for the transport of the refugees.
"About 50 seva volunteers are involved in Poland. There is a 24-hour hotline. About 40 homes are ready to host refugees," Jyothirmaya said.
This comes against the backdrop of Russian forces launching military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities.
Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow. These countries have also promised Ukraine to help with military aid to fight Russia.
The US, Canada and European allies agreed to remove key Russian banks from the interbank messaging system, SWIFT which means Russian banks won't be able to communicate securely with banks beyond Russia's borders. President Putin has also signed a decree on special economic measures against the US and its allies.
( With inputs from ANI )
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