‘I Am Partha Satpathy…’: Odisha-Born Ambassador To Ukraine Reaches Out To Indians As Nation Comes Under Attack

Bhubaneswar: The Indian embassy in Kyiv is literally working on a war-footing to ensure the safety of Indians stranded in the country and draw up evacuation plans.

Partha Satpathy, the Odisha-born India’s Ambassador to Ukraine, has been constantly reaching out to Indians, keeping them informed and reassuring them.

In normal times, Satpathy would have reached out to Indians perhaps very differently.

But on Thursday, after Russia attacked Ukraine, he sent out a direct message, “I am Partha Satpathy, the Ambassador of India to Ukraine. I am reaching out to you from Kyiv. Today early morning, we all woke up with the news that Ukraine is under attack…”

Satpathy, an alumnus of Stewart School in Odisha’s Capital Bhubaneswar, also released a video stating, “I would like to assure all of you that the Embassy of India continues to operate round the clock looking out for the safety and security of all Indians here.”

Urging calm, Satpathy said the embassy in Kyiv was working out modalities to evacuate Indians through neighboring nations along the western border of Ukraine. He assured that the embassy will continue to operate till every Indian was back home safely.

There are about 20,000 Indians in Ukraine and Satpathy has sent out a series of advisories since the Russian invasion.

Satpathy graduated in Physics from Delhi University (DU), following it up with an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, followed by a Masters in Human Rights and International Law from the Human Rights Centre in Essex, UK.

A 1990-batch IFS officer, Satpathy served as Head of Latin America & Caribbean Division in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) before being appointed as India’s Ambassador to Ukraine.

Satpathy has also served as Ambassador of India to the Republic of Senegal with concurrent accreditation to the Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Guinea Bissau and High Commissioner of India to the Republic of The Gambia. He has served in the Indian embassies in Moscow, Vienna, Brasilia and Lisbon and worked in the UN and Latin America Divisions of the MEA.