Puducherry, Feb 28 (IANS): Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy has written to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, appealing to the government of India to airlift students from the Union Territory who are stranded in war-torn Ukraine.

In the letter, the Chief Minister said that 23 students from Puducherry are stranded in Ukraine, as he requested the Centre to evacuate them at the earliest.

Rangasamy also urged the External Affairs Minister to arrange for food and other basic amenities through the Indian Embassy in Ukraine until the students are safely airlifted back to their motherland.

The Chief Minister furnished the names and contact details of the students from the UT who are stranded in Ukraine.

AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, O. Panneerselvam, also appealed to the Centre to evacuate the students from Puducherry who are stranded in Ukraine.

In a letter to Jaishankar, the AIADMK leader said, "The students from Puducherry who are in Ukraine are in a state of panic. They are short of food and drinking water."

He also said that the students are staying in an unsafe place in war-torn Ukraine and requested the government of India to coordinate with the Indian Embassy in Kiev for the speedy evacuation of the students from that country.