600 Indian nationals have left Ukraine’s north-eastern city Sumy
Russia-Ukraine war: Hindustan Times has learnt that the total number of people who were evacuated from Sumy is around 600.
All Indian students numbering around 570 have been evacuated from Sumy, the northeastern Ukrainian city. Hindustan Times has learnt that the total number of people who were evacuated from Sumy is around 600. This includes a total of 580 students, 20 Indians on work permit. Besides this, 17 other nationals from Nepal, Pakistan, Tunisia and Bangladesh were also evacuated.
Multiple small teams of Indian officials had been rushed to the eastern part of Ukraine to facilitate the Indians, mostly students who had taken shelters in campuses and bunkers. Buses and vehicles were also arranged to ferry the students. The Indian embassy in Kyiv had tweeted late on Sunday that a team of officials has been stationed in Poltava city.
The massive evacuation drive comes day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy over phone. During the conversation, Putin assured the prime minister of cooperation in the evacuation of Indians from the war-hit Sumy. The prime minister had expressed grave concerns about the safety and security of Indian students stuck in the warzones.
India carried out the evacuation process despite shelling by the Russian forces in Sumy. In fact, the government last week had urged both Russian and Ukrainian authorities for a ceasefire so that the evacuation process can be carried out without any fear.