New Delhi: Amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting with senior officials. The meeting was attended by Foreign Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla among others.
"PM Narendra Modi's high-level meeting on Ukraine Russia Conflict lasted over 2 hours. The PM ensured safety & evacuation of Indian students as the top priority. Further cooperation with neighbouring countries of Ukraine to expedite evacuation will be enhanced," quoted ANI as one one of the sources in the Government said.
The Prime Minister earlier today had said that the government will do whatever possible to bring back all the Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla held a press conference on Saturday where he briefed about the measures taken by the Indian government under ‘Operation Ganga’ to bring back Indian nationals from Ukraine.
To futher assist Indians in Ukraine, a dedicated twitter handle has been set up, said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
The Foreign Secretary said that thousands of Indians have been flown out of Romania and Hungary and another thousand have been evacuated from Ukraine through land routes.
The Prime Minister had on Thursday chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in New Delhi. The topmost priority of the government is the safety and security of Indian nationals, PM Modi had said during the meeting.
A total of 469 Indian nationals have been evacuated from conflict-ridden Ukraine, out of which 250 landed in Delhi on Sunday morning and 219 landed in Mumbai on Saturday evening.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday morning said that special military operations are being launched “to protect” the people in the Donbas region.