At a high-level meeting on Monday evening over the Ukraine crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the entire government machinery was working round the clock to ensure that all Indians there were safe and secure, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. This was the second high-level meeting chaired by the Prime Minister during the day over the prevailing situation in Ukraine. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia, Foreign Secretary of India Harsh V. Shringla, Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju, and senior bureaucrats were present in the meeting. “PM @narendramodi chaired a high level meet, his second today, to review the ongoing efforts under #OperationGanga to bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine. PM said that the entire government machinery is working round the clock to ensure that all Indians there are safe & secure,” Bagchi tweeted.
In a series of tweets, Bagchi said that during the meeting the Prime Minister pointed that the visit of four senior ministers as his “Special Envoys” to various nations will energise the evacuation efforts. “Prime Minister pointed that the visit of four senior ministers as his Special Envoys to various nations will energize the evacuation efforts. It is reflective of the priority the Government attaches to this matter,” he tweeted.
He also said that the first consignment of relief supplies to Ukraine will be dispatched on Tuesday. “Prime Minister noted that the first consignment of relief supplies to Ukraine to deal with the humanitarian situation on Ukraine’s borders would be despatched tomorrow,” Bagchi said. “Guided by India’s motto of the world being one family, PM @narendramodi stated that India will help people from neighbouring countries and developing countries who are stranded in Ukraine and may seek assistance,” he added.
Government sources on Monday said that the “Special Envoys” including Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and Gen (Retd) V.K. Singh will travel to neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate the evacuations of stranded Indians amid the ongoing Russian military operations in Ukraine.
On 24 February, the Prime Minister chaired a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting in New Delhi on the Ukraine crisis. The Union government under the leadership of the Prime Minister has launched “Operation Ganga” to bring back stranded students and Indian citizens from the conflict-torn Ukraine. Special flights are being operated by Air India under “Operation Ganga”.
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine has issued a second advisory for Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine on Monday and advised them to reach the railway station as the weekend curfew in the city has been lifted. “Weekend curfew lifted in Kyiv. All students are advised to make their way to the railway station for onward journey to the western parts,” said the advisory. It added that Ukraine Railways is putting special trains for evacuation. It urged Indian nationals/students to remain calm, peaceful and united. “A large crowd can be expected at the railway stations, therefore, it is advised that all Indian students remain patient, composed and especially not to exhibit aggressive behaviours while at the railway stations,” as per the advisory. It also alerted students for the possible delay in the train schedule, even cancellation at times and long queues. It guided the Indian students to carry their passport, sufficient cash, ready to eat meals, easily accessible winter clothing and only essential items, to ensure easy mobility.
“Be mindful of your belongings at all times. Ukrainians both civilians and authorities have been remarkably supportive in facilitating evacuation efforts of Indian citizens, especially considering these critical and dangerous times. You are all requested to respect this sentiment,” the statement said.
Earlier in the day, Arindam Bagchi said that India had evacuated over 8,000 nationals since the initial advisories were issued by the country. He also said that evacuation flights have landed in India bringing back around 1,400 citizens. A fifth flight carrying 249 Indian nationals who were stranded in Ukraine landed in New Delhi on Monday morning. He added, “India will provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine including medicines. However, no more details are yet available.”
Talking about the evacuation of stranded Indian nationals in Ukraine, Bagchi assured that new flights will be added as needed. “Some people are panicking. Please do not worry. Once you cross the Ukrainian borders we will make sure that there are enough flights to bring you back whether it takes a day or two more,” he said. He emphasised that India is continually augmenting the presence of the MEA teams for necessary arrangements at the borders points in Slovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary and Moldova.
“Contact details of teams have been shared. We are increasing the size of the MEA teams. We are also augmenting the strength of our embassies in countries bordering Ukraine. Every day we are authorizing more officials from nearby countries as well as from Delhi,” he added. He asked the Indian nationals to try to go to the western part of Ukraine and contact teams, contact control rooms. Share the location information so that they can get them registered and see when they can be brought out because the borders are very crowded. Replying to a question of whether the students are paying exorbitant prices for the airfare, he assured that no one as paying anything, as everything was being paid by Government of India.
Bagchi also confirmed that Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia will be overseeing evacuation operations of stranded Indians in Romania and Moldova, while Minister of Law Kiren Rijiju will be visiting Slovakia. Furthermore, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri will be overlooking operations in Hungary, and Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport Gen (Retd) V.K. Singh will manage evacuations in Poland.
Bagchi, while answering a question of whether the Indian Air Force will be used like it was done during the Afghanistan crisis, said that the Air Force was ready and if required India will use them. He confirmed that right now only commercial aircraft were working. Replying to a question on Indian nationals not getting a response on the helpline provided, Bagchi said that control rooms have been expanded and several channels like WhatsApp, Twitter among others are functional to expand the capacity to respond.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Monday revised its international travel advisory, providing various exemptions to Indians being evacuated from Ukraine. Indians being evacuated from Ukraine have been exempted from mandatory pre-boarding negative RTPCR test.