Fact Check: Did Russian army advise Indian students to hoist tricolor on vehicles?
A post claiming that the Russian army has asked Indians to place tricolor on their houses and vehicles is being shared widely on social media.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 9 March 2022 8:00 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A post claiming that the Russian army has asked Indians to place tricolor on their houses and vehicles is being shared widely on social media. Users claim the Russian army will not harm Indians carrying tricolor and will evacuate them to safe places.
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FactCheck
The claim is misleading.
NewsMeter searched on the internet about the claim. No such announcement was made by the Russian army. If the Russian army had made any such announcement, most of the media agencies would have reported it. But no media outlet published any such news. Also, the 'Embassy of India in Russia' did not tweet any such advisory.
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On 25 February 2022, an advisory was issued to all Indian nationals by the Indian Embassy in Ukraine. "Print out Indian flag and paste prominently on vehicles and buses while traveling," the advisory said. There was no mention of the Russian army evacuating the Indians to safe places.
Talking to 'ANI', Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said: "We have asked the students who are traveling on bikes, cars, and buses to display the Indian flag prominently on the vehicles. People who are not carrying pictures of flags have been sent flags through social media. Russia has promised that it will not take any action against Indian students. We have asked them to reach the Ukraine border carrying the Indian Flags".
On March 1, 2022, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine tweeted: "All Indian nationals including students are advised to leave Kyiv urgently today".
They did not advise Indians to keep the Indian flags on their houses so that the Russian army can evacuate them to safe places (as claimed in the post).
However, talking to 'ANI', the Indian students who reached Bucharest (Romania) from Ukraine said: "We were told in Ukraine that being Indians and carrying Indian flag, we won't have any problems. The Turkish and Pakistani students were also using the Indian flag."
Hence, the claim is misleading.
