WEB DESK
Nearly 18 thousand Indians have left Ukraine since advisories issued by External Affairs Ministry. Briefing media in New Delhi this evening, Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the pace of Operation Ganga continues to accelerate. During the last 24 hours, 15 flights landed in India bringing back more than 3000 Indians. He said around 6 thousand 400 Indian citizens have been brought back so far. During the next 24 hours, 18 flights have been scheduled. Of these, 3 would be IAS C 17 flights, and the other flights are commercial including Air India, Indigo and Spice Jet.
In terms of departure from Europe, the spokesperson said there will be 7 flights from Bucharest, 5 from Budapest, 3 from Rzeszow and 1 from Kosice. In addition, new location has been identified near the Romanian border from where 2 flights will be operated during the next 24 hours. Mr Bagchi said the increased number of flights reflects the large number of Indians who have crossed over from Ukraine and are now in the neighbouring countries. He said efforts will be further stepped up to bring all these Indians back at the earliest. Indian Embassies in cooperation with the host governments and local partners are providing food and accommodation to them. He appreciated the Ukrainian government for facilitating the evacuation of Indian nationals despite their own challenges.
On developments on the ground in Ukraine, Mr Bagchi said India is closely following developments in Kharkiv and Sumy and other cities in eastern Ukraine. A large number of students have left Kharkiv after External Affairs Ministry issued an advisory yesterday. The total number of Indians waiting to cross Ukraine’s western borders has reduced. He said Ministry is in touch with Russian and Ukraine authorities for the evacuation of Indian nationals.