Russia-Ukraine War | No Indians Left In Kharkiv, Ceasefire Best Option To Evacuate Citizens: MEA

While addressing a daily presser, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the Indian government will now be looking at how many are still in Ukraine.

Indian nationals, evacuated from war-torn Ukraine, upon their arrival at the Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday said that as many as 15 evacuation flights have landed in India in the last 24 hours bringing around 2,900 citizens back home. Another 13 flights are scheduled to arrive in the next 24 hours, it said.

While addressing a daily presser, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the Indian government will now be looking at how many are still in Ukraine which is under severe military attack by Russia since last 10 days.

"The embassy will contact those who happen to be there but haven't registered. In nearby Pisochyn, we have moved (evacuated) 298 students, hoping to complete it by today," Bagchi said.

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The MEA officials also said that Indian authorities should be able to clear out everyone from Ukraine's Pisochyn and Kharkiv in the next few hours, adding that no one is left in Kharkhiv.

He also said that the main focus is now on Sumy region as the challenge remains with ongoing violence and lack of transportation. "Best option to evacuate Indian nationals would be a ceasefire," he added.

Bagchi also said that probably one Nepali citizen will be coming today onboard an Indian flight and a Bangladeshi national is also expected to arrive later.

So far, around 6,222 Indian nationals have been evacuated from Romania and Moldova in the last seven days under 'Operation Ganga'. Meanwhile, 2,000 Indian nationals are expected to be evacuated under 'Operation Ganga' from the borders of war-torn Ukraine on Sunday.

The Government of India has initiated an airlift operation to evacuate Indian nationals, who have found their way to the neighbouring countries of war-torn Ukraine including Romania, Slovakia and Poland.