Russia-Ukraine war: Stranded Indian national to come back home with his pet cat, says 'we are inseparable'

21-year-old Akhil Radhakrishnan, who was stranded in war-torn Ukraine following Russia's invasion, will be coming back to India after the government launched 'Operation Ganga' to evacuate the Indian nationals in the European country.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Radhakrishnan informed that the Indian Embassy has allowed him to take his pet cat Ammini along on the flight. "She is lovely and we are inseparable. I got her about 4-months back from a senior," he said from Hungary, Budapest.

Earlier on Friday, Rishab Kaushik, a Dehradun resident who refused to leave Ukraine without his pet dog Maliboo, arrived in India via Budapest (Hungary).

Kaushik is an undergraduate student of software engineering at the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics Engineering.

He had posted a video on Instagram regarding the difficulties he is facing in bringing his dog along with him to India, urging the Government to allow NOC.

His video led People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to appeal to the Indian government to press for allowing the Indians to take their pets along with in the flights.

On Tuesday, the Government of India issued a memorandum facilitating "a one-time relaxation measure" for bringing back pet dogs and cats along with stranded Indians who are being evacuated from war-hit Ukraine.

"There was a lot of documentation in India, the procedure was long. But in war-like situations, they should've allowed their own citizens. So, I had put up the appeal. A memorandum had come recently which stated that pets and even strays are now being allowed without NOC," Kaushik told ANI.

(With ANI inputs)

Published on: Saturday, March 05, 2022, 04:50 PM IST