As many as 688 Indian nationals returned on Sunday from Ukraine on board three Air India evacuation flights from the Romanian capital Bucharest and Hungarian capital Budapest. So far, four evacuation flights have brought back a total of 907 Indian nationals from Ukraine. However, several Indian students in Ukraine who trudged 35km in freezing temperature to reach the border with Poland hoping for an escape from the ravaging war, are now stuck there with little or no food and shelter.
Union Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla on Sunday announced six more special flights to be sent between February 28 and March 2 to bring back stranded Indian nationals from Ukraine. Shringla called in both ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine separately and conveyed his concerns on the safety of Indian citizens. India has named the evacuation mission as 'Operation Ganga'.
Meanwhile, taking to Twitter, the Indian Embassy in Kyiv asked the Indian diaspora to move away from conflict zones to the Western region as Ukraine Railways is organising emergency trains at no cost, first come first basis from Kyiv.
Referring to intense fighting in Kharkiv, Sum, and Kyiv, the embassy urged Indians in these cities and other curfew-bound regions not to venture towards railway stations until such curbs are lifted and considerable civilian movement is renewed.
The first evacuation flight carrying 219 Indians from Bucharest landed in Mumbai on Saturday evening. The second flight with 250 nationals arrived in Delhi in the early hours of Sunday. Air India's third evacuation flight, AI1940, departed from Budapest with 240 Indian nationals and landed at the Delhi airport around 9.20 am on Sunday. The fourth evacuation flight carrying 198 Indian nationals from Bucharest landed in Delhi in the evening. Following the closure of Ukrainian airspace, India is facilitating the evacuation of stranded Indians from Ukraine through its land border crossings with Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.
“I've shared the locations where Indian citizens are concentrated. Both ambassadors took note of our concerns and assured us of the safety of Indian citizens," Shringla said. The Foreign Secretary said border crossing to Hungary and Romania is functioning. However, he said, the exit point to Poland is clogged due to lakhs of foreign nationals trying to escape from that point.
Those who are near the borders of Hungary and Romania are guided towards their border points in phases, he added. “We estimated that about 15,000 citizens were left in Ukraine," the Foreign Secretary said. As per details shared by Shringla, two Indigo flights will depart on February 28, two other Air India special flights will depart on March 1 and two on March 2.
Early on Sunday morning, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia welcomed the evacuees of the AI1942 flight at the Delhi airport by handing out roses to them and also thanked the crew members of Air India.
