Ukraine Crisis: 26 Flights To Be Operated Over Next 3 Days To Bring Back Indians, Says Govt

Russia-Ukraine War: Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said airports in Poland and Slovak would also be used for operating flights besides those in Bucharest and Budapest.

Nine flights have already brought back more than 1,000 students stuck in Ukraine (PTI)

New Delhi: Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India would operate 26 flights over the next three days to bring back Indian nationals who have moved from Ukraine to its neighbouring countries.

In a media briefing after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on evacuation efforts, Shringla said airports in Poland and Slovak would also be used for operating flights besides those in Bucharest and Budapest.

"Over the next 3 days, 26 flights have been scheduled to bring out Indian citizens. Apart from Bucharest and Budapest, airports in Poland and Slovak Republic will also be used," Shringla said.

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Under 'Operation Ganga', launched by the government to evacuate Indians from the conflict zone, nine flights have already brought back more than 1,000 students stuck in Ukraine.

Shringla said a C-17 IAF aircraft was expected to fly out at 4 am on Wednesday to Romania to repatriate Indian nationals. He also said that all Indian nationals had left Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

"All of our nationals have left Kyiv. The information with us is that we have no more nationals left in Kyiv, nobody has contacted us from Kyiv since," he said.

The Foreign Secretary said there were an estimated 20,000 Indian students in Ukraine when the government issued its first advisory.

"From that number, approximately 12,000 have since left Ukraine, which is 60% of the total number of our citizens in Ukraine. Of the remaining 40%, roughly half remain in conflict zone in Kharkiv, Sumy area and the other half have either reached the western borders of Ukraine or are heading towards the western part of Ukraine. They are generally out of conflict areas," he said.

More than 20 flights from Air India, Air India Express, Indigo and SpiceJet have been deployed by the Centre for evacuation. Besides, the Air Force has also been asked to evacuate Indians from neighbouring countries of Ukraine.