Operation Ganga: 6,400 Indians evacuated on 15 flights in 24 hours

Nearly 17,000 Indians have been evacuated from Ukraine to safe places in neighbouring countries since the Government of India began issuing advisories and will be brought back in tranches as Indian Air Force planes, as well as commercial airlines, have been pressed into service with more than seven flights a day between Ukraine’s neighbours and India.

The Civil Aviation Ministry said India has till now brought back 6,998 people on special flights — including the ones operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF) — since February 22.

Most students are now out of the conflict–torn Kharkiv and in a nearby city, Pisochyn, but the government still does not have a clear idea of how many are stuck in Kharkiv as not all Indians have registered with the Embassy. However, Bagchi exuded confidence as he said every Indian will be brought out, whether they have registered or not. Around 1,000 Indians were taken out of Kharkiv on Thursday.  The Indian side is in touch with both Ukrainian and Russian authorities to evacuate Indians from both Kharkiv and Sumy, said Bagchi.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla also spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart on the evacuation of Indian students. Russia has readied 130 buses to evacuate stranded Indians and other foreigners from Kharkov and Sumy cities to Russia’s Belgorod Region, said Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev of the Russian military.

Mizintsev said places for temporary accommodation have been set up at checkpoints. “Evacuees will be provided hot meals and transported to Belgorod for their departure by air, including via Russian military airplanes,” he added.

The Kremlin had claimed that some Indian students were taken hostage by the Ukrainian security forces and were using them as human shields. The Ukrainians responded by “urgently calling” on India, Pakistan, and China whose students have “become hostages”, asking Russia to open a humanitarian passage to other Ukrainian cities. The Ministry of External Affairs said it had not received any report of a hostage situation regarding Indian students in Kharkiv. In fact, New Delhi requested Ukrainians to arrange special trains for taking students out from the city and neighbouring areas. “We are in continuous touch with Indians in Ukraine. We note that with the cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities, many students have left Kharkiv,” said Bagchi.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar addressed a meeting of the Consultative Committee on External Affairs where Members of Parliament (MPs) across party lines offered support to the government on the evacuation effort although many Opposition parties have criticised the government’s sluggish efforts to get students out of Ukraine. “It was a good meeting. We are all united”. Foreign minister S Jaishankar, who addressed the briefing, tweeted about a “strong and unanimous message of support”.

The 21-member committee is headed by Jaishankar, who made the presentation along with Shringla. Nine MPs from six political parties attended the meeting. Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chat­urvedi, who has been questioning the government on the problems faced by Indian students in Ukraine, was also present.

Rahul Gandhi has been vocal on Twitter about the evacuation efforts and the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who he said, “was missing in action”.  

After an Indian student was killed in shelling at Ukraine’s Kharkiv on Tuesday, he tweeted: “To avert further tragedy, the government must share how many students have been evacuated, how many are still stranded in Ukraine, and a region-wise detailed evacuation plan”.

But on Thursday, appreciation for the government came from unexpected quarters. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted after the meeting: “Excellent meeting of the Consultative Committee on External Affairs on Thursday morning on Ukraine offensive. My thanks to Dr S Jaishankar and his colleagues for a comprehensive briefing and candid responses to our questions and concerns. This is the spirit in which foreign policy should be run”.

However, Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already written to Modi, offering unconditional support for the government's efforts to bring back Indians from Ukraine.

The Congress had taken a diplomatic stance on the United Nations (UN) vote, in line with that of the government. “The Congress, while expressing its anguish, is of the considered view that the international community must work together for cessation of armed conflict and early restoration of peace to save human lives and further aggravation of the crisis,” read a statement from the party.  

Earlier this week, India abstained from voting at the UN Security Council on a US-sponsored resolution that deplored in strongest terms Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.