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India leads the evacuation mission from Russia-hit Ukraine

India is leading the evacuation mission from Ukraine, leaving no stone unturned in bringing back Indian nationals. Utilising a heightened diplomatic outreach with Ukraine's neighbours, the Indian government has been on its toes to ensure that our citizens are returning home safe

Published on: Feb 28, 2022, 14:28:24 IST
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With the fierce war between Ukraine and Russia underway, thousands of foreign nationals from various countries are stuck in the war-torn country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs a high-level meeting on the Ukraine crisis with external affairs minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi on Monday (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs a high-level meeting on the Ukraine crisis with external affairs minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi on Monday (ANI)

India is leading the evacuation mission from Ukraine, leaving no stone unturned in bringing back Indian nationals. Utilising a heightened diplomatic outreach with Ukraine's neighbours, the Indian government has been on its toes to ensure that our citizens are returning home safe.

But how are other countries fare in terms of saving their folklore from the clutches of war?

Russia-Ukraine war: LIVE coverage

China

With an estimated 6,000 Chinese nationals reportedly stuck in Ukraine, Beijing announced a chartered plane for its citizens. It requested citizens leaving Kyiv to display identification signs such as the Chinese flag. However, China has postponed its evacuation plan whereas India's Operation Ganga is underway on a war-footing manner.

Biden's call with allies as UNSC preps for emergency session on Ukraine

United States

With an estimated 900 employees stranded in the war-hit country, Washington DC announced that it would not be able to evacuate US citizens.

"We urge U.S citizens to depart now by private options, if safe. Consider routes & risk. Many Polish land border crossings & main Moldavian crossings have long waits. We recommend Hungary, Romania & Slovakia border crossings. Waits may be hours," the US embassy tweeted.

The US embassy even released an online form and local numbers for communication.

Russia-Ukraine crisis: Russian offensive has slowed - Ukraine military chief

United Kingdom

Days before the Russian forces attacked Ukraine, the British embassy had issued a circular informing that it would not be able to provide consular access in the war-hit country, and "British nationals should not expect increased consular support or help with evacuating in these circumstances."

Germany

The German government too informed its citizens to leave Ukraine as soon as possible as evacuation was not possible. Berlin has shut its embassy, but the Indian embassy is still functioning.

Egypt

The head of Egyptian community in Ukraine had said that the Egyptian government was coordinating with its counterparts in Ukraine. However, the students have been calling on the embassy for help. Some tried to take the matters in their own hands and crossed the border into Poland.

  • Shishir Gupta
    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