Ukraine ops: 3 more Air Force aircraft bring back home over 600 Indians

As part of the 'Operation Ganga' mission, special flights are being operated to facilitate returns of the stranded Indians free of cost from the conflict-hit nation.

Three more Air Force C-17 aircraft returned to the country on Saturday morning bringing back Indians who were stuck in Ukraine via Romania, Slovakia and Poland. When these planes took off on Friday evening, they carried 16.5 tonnes of relief load from India to these countries for the war-hit Ukraine where over 1 million people have been displaced since last week. So far, the Air Force has flown ten planes to bring back 2,056 citzens back to safety under the government's 'Operation Ganga'. About 26 tonnes of relief assistance has been sent to Ukraine and its other neighbouring countries that are also affected by the conflict.

Indian nationals inside an IAF C-17 aircraft after being evacuated using airfields in Romania and Hungary in view of the Ukraine conflict as part of Operation Ganga.(ANI)

As part of the 'Operation Ganga' mission, special flights are being operated to facilitate returns of the stranded Indians free of cost from the conflict-hit nation. The first such evacuation flight carrying 219 Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine landed in Mumbai on February 26. The government has also set up 24x7 control centres to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals through the border crossing points with Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. A dedicated Twitter Account (@opganga) has also been set up under Operation Ganga.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to meet on Monday to discuss the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. The French and Mexican missions to the UN are seeking the Council’s approval of a resolution calling for unhindered humanitarian access in Ukraine.

1,000 Ukraine civilians have died in 10 days of Russia offensive, the United Nations said on Friday.