New Delhi: India again on Friday rejected claims by both Russia and Ukraine that Indian students are being held hostage in the besieged city of Kharkiv. “We are reiterating that we are not aware of any Indian being held hostage. They are facing difficulty due to security reasons, particularly in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, but no hostage situation,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said during a special briefing on ‘Operation Ganga’. The MEA on Thursday also rejected the claim made by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s office that some Indian students were “actually taken hostage” by the Ukrainian security forces to use them as a “human shield”. The Russian claim was figured on Wednesday in a readout issued by Kremlin that mentioned the key points made by Putin during a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Related NewsUkraine Russia news: Putin claims Ukrainian forces held over 3000 Indian nationals hostage in Kharkiv Speaking at the briefing, Bagchi said that over 20,000 Indians have left Ukraine since the first travel advisory was issued. He said that there are more people in the war-hit nation, but it’s reassuring to see that these many people have left Ukraine. “Over 20,000 Indians have left the Ukraine borders since we issued our advisories. There are more people, but it’s reassuring to see that these many people have left Ukrainian borders,” he said. Informing about the evacuation effort, he said, “during the 24 hours, 18 flights have landed in India with around 4,000 Indians on board. The total number of flights that have landed have been 48, carrying 10,348 Indians.”Related NewsRussia-Ukraine Crisis: India continues to step up evacuation efforts to bring back stranded Indians, says MEA As many as 16 flights have been scheduled for the next 24 hours including Indian Air Force’s C-17 aircraft, Bagchi said. He reiterated that India has requested Ukrainian authorities for special trains to help in the evacuation of the Indian nationals. “We had requested Ukrainian authorities for special trains but haven’t heard anything yet. Meanwhile, we are arranging buses,” he added.