Air India flight to evacuate trapped Indians from war-hit Ukraine

Russia-Ukraine crisis: Air India is sending two flights at 2 am on Saturday to airlift the Indian citizens from Ukraine via Bucharest

Published on: Feb 25, 2022, 11:26:56 IST

By Shishir Gupta

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With Ukraine defending against Russian invasion, the Modi government has escalated move to evacuate Indian nationals trapped in the war-torn country. Air India is sending two flights at 2 am on Saturday to airlift the Indian citizens from Ukraine via Bucharest.

Air India will send two flights on Saturday at 2 am to evacuate Indian nations from war-hit Ukraine

The Indian evacuation teams have reached the Romanian borders, which is roughly 12 hours drive from Ukrainian capital Kyiv. With the airspace closed for civilian flights, the Indian nationals will be boarding flights at Bucharest to return home safely.

Russia-Ukraine crisis LIVE coverage

Meanwhile, several Indian nationals have taken refuge in the Indian embassy in Kyiv. There were reports of shelling around the embassy premises, but no damage has been done.

Ever since Vladimir Putin's forces invaded Ukraine, the Indian government has been on its toes. The Ministry of External Affairs set up a 24x7 control room in the national capital to monitor the entire evacuation process.

The Indian embassy in Kyiv has been issuing advisories to the citizens, mostly comprising students to stay calm wherever they were, assuring them of working on an evacuation arrangement via alternative route.

Add to this, the embassy had also advised the Indian nationals to take shelter in the nearest bomb shelter or bunkers in case of shelling in the vicinity.

The external affairs ministry has also shared contact details of officials who can be approached by Indian citizens after cross the Ukrainian border with respective countries. . As flights have been suspended, entering these countries through land route by crossing the border remains the best option for Indians who want to leave Ukraine now.

Read: As Ukraine comes under attack, a Buxar family prays for their son’s safety

On Thursday, MoS external affairs V Muraleedharan had assured families of stranded Indians that efforts were on a war-footing to bring their near and dear ones from the conflict-hit eastern European nation.

"The MEA is taking steps to bring back about 18,000 Indians including students from Ukraine. As the air space in Ukraine is closed, alternative arrangements are being made for the evacuation of Indian nationals. The central government will ensure the safety of all Indians," the minister had said.

Remember, the Indian embassy in Kyiv in its advisory issued on February 15 had urged all Indians to leave Ukraine as soon as possible.

"All Indian students should leave Ukraine in view of the escalating military tension with Russia. In view of the uncertainties of the current situation in Ukraine, Indian nationals in Ukraine, particularly students whose stay is not essential may consider leaving temporarily," the embassy had said.

Also Read: UNSC draft resolution condemns Russia, asks for force withdrawal from Ukraine

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shishir Gupta
Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades. A recognised authority on strategic affairs, Gupta has covered India's nuclear programme since the Pokhran-II (Shakti series) tests in May 1998 and has written extensively on global nuclear issues, Indian diplomacy and the country's expanding global outreach. He has also reported widely on international conflicts and terrorism, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent. Gupta has interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than four times, including Modi's first interview with the print media after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. His other interviews include three with the Dalai Lama, as well as conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. He is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (Hachette, 2011) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (Hachette, 2014). He was awarded the Chevening-Wolfson Joint Scholarship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK, in 1998 and participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US State Department in 2006. He received the Ben Gurion Prize from Israel in 2011 and the K. Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 from the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Since 2024, he has hosted Point Blank, Hindustan Times' weekly YouTube show on global geopolitics.Read More

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