External Affairs Ministry today called in both the Ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine separately and conveyed deep concerns on safety and security of Indian citzens particularly the students based in Ukraine. Addressing media in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that he has shared with both the envoys the locations where the Indian citizens are concentrated for ensuring their protection. Mr Shringla said that both the envoys took note of the concerns and assured him of they are very cognizant of the safety and security of the Indian citizens.
Mr Shringla also said that so far under Operation Ganga, thousand of indian citizens have been flown out of Romania and Hungary and another thousand have been evacuated from Ukraine through land routes and flights have been organised for them. He informed that border crossing to Hungary and Romania is functioning and however, the exit point to Poland is clogged due to lakhs of foreign nationals trying to escape from that point. He said, those who are near the borders of Hungary and Romania are guided towards their border points in phases.
Mr Shringla said that Indian Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine and External Affairs Ministry in Delhi had issued a number of advisories prior to the situation developing in Ukraine. He said, 4000 of Indian nationals had left before the conflict, pursuant to these advisories. He said, we estimated at that time that about 15,000 citizens were left in Ukraine when Operation Ganga commenced. He said, since the airspace in Ukraine was closed after the conflict commenced, MEA identified land evacuation options from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania.