+

All Indian Students Have Been Moved Out From Ukraine’s Sumy, Says MEA

‘Flights under OperationGanga are being prepared to bring them home’; PM Modi discusses Ukraine situation with Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte; in an advisory, Indian Embassy urges Indians to use humanitarian corridors to leave Ukraine by ‘trains, vehicles or any other available means of transport’.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday announced that it had evacuated all Indian students from Ukraine’s Sumy. “Happy to inform that we have been able to move out all Indian students from Sumy. They are currently en route to Poltava, from where they will board trains to western Ukraine. Flights under OperationGanga are being prepared to bring them home,” tweeted MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

Under “Operation Ganga” to rescue Indian citizens from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries, about 18,000 Indians have been brought back by special flights so far; 410 Indians were brought back on Tuesday by special civilian flights from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries by two special civilian flights from Suceava, said a Ministry of Civil Aviation press release. With this, about 18,000 Indians have been brought back

through the special flights which began on 22 February 2022. The number of Indians airlifted by 75 special civilian flights has gone up to 15,521. IAF had flown 12 missions to bring back 2,467 passengers, as part of Operation Ganga, and carried over 32-tonne relief material, read the release.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday discussed the ongoing situation in Ukraine amid Russian military operation with Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte in a phone call. The two leaders discussed the ongoing situation in Ukraine and shared their concerns over the continuing humanitarian situation in Ukraine, read Prime Minister’s Office press release. PM Modi reiterated India’s consistent appeal for cessation of hostilities and a return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy. PM Modi informed Rutte about the progress in the evacuation of Indian citizens from conflict areas, and India’s assistance in form of urgent relief supplies, including medicines for the affected populations, added the release. PM Modi also recalled his Virtual Summit with Rutte in April 2021 and expressed his desire to receive him in India at an early date.

The Indian Embassy in Ukraine issued an advisory for all stranded Indian nationals on Tuesday, urging them to make use of currently operating humanitarian corridors and evacuate using “trains/vehicles or any other available means of transport giving due consideration to safety”. Russia reportedly opened humanitarian corridors from Kyiv, Cherhihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol so that civilians can be evacuated. The Russian defence ministry made the announcement today.

India on Tuesday started evacuating its stranded citizens from Ukraine’s Sumy to Poltava under Operation Ganga after the announcement of Russian ceasefire today from 10 am (Moscow time) for providing humanitarian corridors in the cities of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol, even as reports said that 21 civilians, including 2 children, were killed in a Russian attack on Sumy.

Earlier, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said that all 694 Indian students stranded in Ukraine’s Sumy have left for Poltava today. Answering queries of reporters about Indians stranded in Ukraine, he said, “Last night, I checked with the control room, 694 Indian students remain stranded in Sumy. Today, they have all left in buses for Poltava.”

Meanwhile, the Indian mission in Ukraine on Tuesday said it has evacuated 52 out of the 75 Indian sailors stranded at the Port of Mykolaiv in the war-hit nation. It also said that the evacuation of the remaining 23 sailors would be attempted on Tuesday itself. “Mission intervened to evacuate 75 Indian sailors stranded in Mykolaiv Port. Yesterday, buses arranged by Mission evacuated total of 57 sailors including 2 Lebanese & 3 Syrians,” the Indian Embassy in Ukraine said in a tweet. “Route constraints precluded evacuation of balance 23 sailors. Mission is attempting their evacuation today,” it said.

Indian Ambassador to Ukraine, Partha Satpathy met with the Mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi on Tuesday (local time) where both sides discussed the evacuation of Indian citizens in Ukraine. Earlier, speaking at an emergency meeting of the UNSC, India’s ambassador to the United Nations T.S. Tirumurti said, “We are deeply concerned that despite our urgings to both sides, a safe corridor for our students stranded in Sumy did not materialise.” Though Russia on Tuesday declared a ceasefire amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine from 10 am (Moscow time) to provide humanitarian corridors in the cities of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol, as per The Kyiv Independent, 21 civilians, including 2 children were killed in the Russian attack on Sumy.

Meanwhile, a report from Bengaluru said that Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar has informed the Karnataka government that the body of Naveen Shekharappa, who died in Ukraine, will be brought to India once shelling stops there, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Tuesday. Bommai also said that Naveen’s body has been embalmed and kept in a mortuary in Ukraine.

Tags:

Featured