The Government of India will ensure evacuation of all Indian nationals from war-hit Ukraine, informed Indian Ambassador to Ukraine Partha Satpathy on Friday, February 25. He was assuring students who were stranded in the country a day after Russia launched a military operation against Ukraine.
The ambassador implored the students who have taken refuge in temporary shelters to be "realistic about the situation" and, in turn, do their bit to assure family and friends back home that everything would be fine. He was seen saying this in a video that was shared by a student, as stated in a report by PTI.
Due to Russia's military operation in Ukraine, the Indian students who were pursuing their higher education, especially medicine, in Ukraine are vexed and have been appealing to authorities for their safe evacuation.
The government of India is completely seized with the matter. Every Indian will go back home. Planes are being lined up. Personnel is being lined up, but it's a warzone. We will have to work out the logistics and find the modalities to reach the West, Satpathy said while speaking to students who are stuck there, as quoted in a report by PTI.
Through Ukraine's land border crossings with its neighbouring countries, the Government of India is planning the evacuation of students, the ambassador informed. Two Air India flights from the Romanian capital Bucharest are being arranged for evacuation.
Also, in coordination with embassies in the neighbouring countries, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Government of India, the vehicle movement has started. The plan is to send the first batch of students through Romania, the ambassador explained.
In an advisory issued by the embassy earlier, Indians in Ukraine were being asked to stay "strong, safe and alert".
On February 24, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla shared that out of the 20,000 Indian nationals stuck in Ukraine, 4,000 have returned to India.
