Restriction on Flights Between India, Ukraine Removed as Indians Try to Get Home Amid Tensions with Russia

The Centre has removed restriction on number of flights and seats between India and Ukraine in air bubble agreement. The ministry of civil aviation said that the decision to allow any number of commercial flights and charter flights on the route came after Indian airlines informed to mount flights due to increase in demand.

Discussions were underway with civil aviation authorities and various airlines on how to increase the number of flights between India and Ukraine to facilitate the return of Indians from the eastern European nation in view of its tense situation with Russia, official sources said.

The Indian embassy in Ukraine on Tuesday advised Indian citizens, especially the students, to temporarily leave that country in view of the uncertainties of the current situation. It also asked Indian nationals to avoid all non-essential travel to and within Ukraine. The sources said the Indian embassy continues to monitor developments in that country.

"We are aware that many Indian students are presently in Ukraine, and their families are anxious about their wards, particularly about getting flights to India," a source said. The sources said control rooms in the Indian embassy in Kyiv as well as in the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi are being set up to respond to queries of Indian nationals in Ukraine and their families in India.

The embassy issued the advisory amid escalating tension between Moscow and the NATO countries over Russia's increasing military build-up close to the Ukrainian border. The US has already sent extra troops to Europe to support its allies in the backdrop of fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has positioned around 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine besides sending warships into the Black Sea for naval exercises, triggering concerns among the NATO countries about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been denying that it plans to invade Ukraine and withdrew some of its forces from the border on Tuesday.

(With inputs from PTI)

Read all the Latest India News here