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More flights come in as evacuation picks up pace
An estimated 17,000 nationals have left war-hit Ukraine till now, the Centre said on Wednesday.
New Delhi: India on Wednesday said an estimated 17,000 nationals had left Ukraine so far, including thousands who departed before Russian troops launched their invasion, even as the number of evacuation flights were ramped up and officials focused on the difficult task of getting citizens out of conflict zones in the eastern part of the country.
The new figure for Indians who have left Ukraine from the time the Indian embassy began registering citizens and issuing advisories before the conflict began, was much higher than the figure of 12,000 given by foreign secretary Harsh Shringla at a briefing on Tuesday.
About 4,800 Indian students will be evacuated from Bucharest and Suceawa in Romania through 24 flights between Wednesday and Friday, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said. “I will be there till the last student leaves from Siret,” he said.
The 17,000 include 3,352 Indians brought back on 15 evacuation flights, including six flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, and those who returned on their own before Russian forces launched their attack on February 24.
Fifteen more evacuation flights, including four mounted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) with its C-17 heavy lift aircraft, were scheduled to land in India by Thursday, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a media briefing.
He also confirmed the death of an Indian student named Chandan Jindal on Wednesday due to natural causes. Jindal was ailing in hospital for several days and a family member was with him, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin afresh on Wednesday with the safety of Indian students among the issues they spoke about, the government said in a statement.
Four Union ministers -- Hardeep Puri, Kiren Rijiju, Jyotiradtiya Scindia and General (retd) V K Singh – have been dispatched to countries surrounding Ukraine. Puri reached Hungary, Rijiju arrived in Slovakia, Scindia landed in Romania and Singh in Poland.
Puri posted tweets interacting with students in Budapest before they were scheduled to board flights back to India. Scindia met the Prime Minister of Romania to “thanks the government for facilitating entry and ensuring safety of our citizens”, while Singh, who also met Indian students, said that Polish universities had decided to allow Indians studying in Ukrainian universities to continue studies in their country. Rijiju, who was in Košice, Slovakia, interacted with students before they boarded flights back home as well.
“Chaired a meeting with Ambassador Sh Rahul Shrivastava and the Indian diaspora - heads of Indian companies in Romania to decentralise the evacuation operations & map out responsibilities, including assisting with medical emergencies, a 24*7 call center & state-wise data collection,” Scindia tweeted.
At several Indian cities, students who were evacuated from Ukraine spoke of tense moments and tough circumstances during evacuation.
For those still stuck in Ukraine, especially in Kharkiv, the emergency advisory by India added to worries.
Reyham Khan, a first-year medical student told PTI: “We have received an advisory today to leave immediately... there is so much chaos. “People have started walking, but to where? We were staying in bunkers sending SOS messages. But this sudden directive has left everyone in a panic,” the student said over the phone.
Bagchi said there had been a sharp increase in both evacuation flights and the number of people being brought back, though problems remained for getting people out of conflict zones. “The cities in eastern Ukraine remain areas of concern for us. [There is] continuing violence there,” he said.
Kharkiv, where Indian student Naveen Shekharappa Gyandagoudar was killed in an attack on Tuesday, Sumy and some more nearby cities were among the areas of concern. Some Indians were able to get out of Kharkiv on trains on Tuesday and Wednesday but thousands more were still in bomb shelters and bunkers as India attempted to work out a mechanism of safe passage for them.
An advisory issued by the Indian embassy on Wednesday afternoon urged Indians in Kharkiv to move towards three nearby safe zones in less than five hours by any means, including on foot, amid fears of a massive Russian assault on Ukraine’s second largest city.
On the Ukraine-Poland border, Indian nationals were able to cross the frontier more easily after they were advised by the Indian embassy in Warsaw to move towards the crossing at Budomierz and away from the more congested Shehnyi-Medyka crossing. Indian officials also made arrangements for food and shelter for them in several border towns.
Bagchi said a substantial number of the staff from the embassy in Kyiv had been moved to a temporary office in Lviv to help Indians moving towards the western borders. The Indian side was also exploring options for sending some officials to the conflict zones on the eastern side to help stranded Indians. Bagchi acknowledged this was “not easy” as several routes to the region were not open.
The Indian side has also put in place a mechanism for issuing emergency certificates to nationals who had lost their passports.
After despatching two tonnes of medicines as humanitarian assistance for Ukraine via Poland, India will send three more consignments with supplies such as tents, blankets and solar lamps via Poland and Romania.
(With inputs from Rahul Singh)
