New Delhi: Following a decline in security and escalation in hostilities, India has advised its citizens in Ukraine to leave the country "as soon as possible".

The Indian Embassy in Kyiv has issued an advisory advising Indians not to travel to Ukraine. The advisory came after another advisory issued on October 10, advising only Indians to avoid all non-essential travel within and within Ukraine.

India's move comes in the wake of a significant increase in Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure and residential buildings in Kyiv and other cities.

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On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared martial law in four Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, and there were reports of people fleeing the occupied city of Kherson after warnings of an imminent attack.

"Due to the deteriorating security situation and the recent escalation of hostilities in Ukraine, Indian nationals are advised not to travel to Ukraine," the Indian embassy said in a social media advisory.

The advisory continued, "Indian nationals including students who are currently in Ukraine are advised to leave Ukraine at the earliest by any means available."

There was currently no official word on the number of Indians in Ukraine, but people familiar with the situation said very few students had returned in recent months to resume their studies.

According to sources, the number of Indians returning to Ukraine is in the hundreds. He claimed that most of those who had returned had not registered with the Indian mission.

In an earlier advisory issued on October 10, the embassy advised Indian nationals to avoid non-essential travel to and from Ukraine and strictly follow the Ukrainian government's safety and security guidelines.

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It also asked Indian nationals to keep the mission informed of their presence in Ukraine so that the embassy can contact them if required.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, India returned more than 22,500 of its citizens, most of them medical and engineering students.

Thousands of them were transported by road and rail in dangerous conditions to neighboring countries like Poland and Romania, where they were transferred on special flights to India.

In recent days, Indian Ambassador Harsh Jain has met Ukrainian officials, including Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksey Danilov, to discuss the current situation.

During a weekly news briefing on 14 October, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said that Indians in Ukraine were asked to take "certain preventive and precautionary measures" following new levels of bombings in cities.

"We are trying to find out how many Indians are there, including some students who have returned." At that point Bagchi said, "I don't have a phone number to give you..." It would be a very informal number, so I shouldn't go into it.

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The Indian Embassy in Kyiv was trying to contact all Indians in Ukraine and compile a database.

"Not all [Indians] are in danger...

"However, depending on the ground situation as well as developments, our embassy issues advisories for both visitors and Indians residing there," he said.