No Hostage Crisis in Ukraine, Says MEA; 18 Flights Scheduled in Next 24 Hours for Evacuation

The ministry of external affairs on Thursday said there was no hostage situation in Ukraine, and that 18 evacuation flights had been scheduled in the next 24 hours for Indians stranded in war-hit Ukraine. Close to 1,000 Indians had left Kharkiv to nearby Pisochyn after its advisory a day ago, the ministry added.

Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi was addressing a media briefing on ‘Operation Ganga’, which was started by the central government to bring back Indian nationals, including students, stuck in Ukraine after Russia invaded the country on February 24.

Bagchi said a large number of students had left Kharkiv for another city, and the Centre was in touch with Russian and Ukrainian authorities about evacuation of Indian nationals from both Kharkiv and Sumy. “We appreciate the Ukrainian government for evacuation efforts. The foreign secretary has also spoken to his Ukrainian counterpart on the evacuation of Indian nationals,” he said.

“We are closely following the developments in Kharkiv, Sumy and other cities in eastern Ukraine. As you know yesterday we issued an advisory for Indians in Kharkiv to leave the city by 6PM local time. Pursuant to this a large number of students have left Kharkiv and are currently in the nearby issue of Pisochyn. We estimate this number to be around 1,000,” Bagchi said, adding, “we are currently looking at transportation options to move them from there to western Ukraine or southern Ukraine depending on the transportation options.”

Embassy asks Indians in Kharkiv to fill up form

The Indian embassy in Ukraine also issued a form for Indian citizens in Kharkiv, except those staying in the urban settlement Pisochyn. The embassy tweeted the details of the form, saying: “All Indian Nationals who are in KHARKIV excluding PISOCHYN, please fill up details contained in the form on an urgent basis:”

According to the MEA, more than 6,400 Indians on 30 special flights had been brought back from Ukraine. A total of 18,000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine since the first advisory was released by the MEA.

Bagchi further said the total number of Indian citizens waiting to cross Ukraine’s western borders had reduced. “We are scheduling more flights and a large number of Indians will be back home in the next two to three days. I would like to appreciate the Ukrainian government and the neighboring countries for hosting our people and providing support in evacuating them,” he added.

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