 "Foreign Secy briefs parl panel on Ukraine situation, evacuation efforts")
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla briefed a parliamentary panel on Monday on the situation in Ukraine amid a Russian military offensive and India's efforts to evacuate its citizens through land check-posts with five neighbouring countries, sources said.
Shringla informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs that Russian-speaking officers had been sent to the border check-posts and Indian embassies in Ukraine's five neighbouring countries -- Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Moldova -- to boost evacuation efforts.
The parliamentary panel chaired by BJP leader P P Chaudhary met on Monday to deliberate on the ministry's Demand for Grants for the financial year 2022-23.
On its members' request, Shringla gave a detailed briefing on the current situation in Ukraine and, in particular, the evacuation of Indian nationals, sources said.
The committee members were briefed about the details of the Operation Ganga launched by the government to repatriate Indian nationals from Ukraine.
It was informed that the evacuation was being conducted through identified land check-posts with five countries neighbouring Ukraine -- Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Moldova -- a parliamentarian present in the meeting said.
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Shringla told the committee that so far around 1,200 students had returned in five flights. Several thousand others had crossed the Ukrainian border or were in the process of doing so, sources said.
The committee was also briefed on the measures being taken by the government to work with the International Committee of the Red Cross in ensuring the safety of Indian nationals in Ukraine, they said.
Some panel members also enquired about India's position on the conflict at the international level and were informed that at the UN Security Council, India had asked for immediate cessation of violence and hostilities. India had also called for a return to diplomacy and dialogue and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, the sources added.