Government to roll out new plans to evacuate 16,000 Indians in Ukraine

• The Government of India is reportedly working on new plans or alternative routes to evacuate Indian citizens who are still stuck in Ukraine.
• Several media reports say that the government is talking to Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia for assistance.
• According to MEA, there were around 20,000 Indians including students in Ukraine, out of which 4,000 had left the country.

The Government of India is reportedly working on new plans or alternative routes to evacuate Indian citizens who are still stuck in Ukraine amid the ongoing invasion by Russia.

Several media reports say that the government is in talks with Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia for assistance in evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine.

Harshvardhan Shringla, Indian Foreign Service officer, said in a press conference that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had already sent Russian speaking officers to Kyiv and neighbouring countries to help with the evacuation of Indians in Ukraine.

He said, “Neighbouring countries have been asked to send their officers to border areas to facilitate entry of Indian nationals. We have asked some officers to go to border areas to set up makeshift facilitation centres.”

According to MEA, there were around 20,000 Indians including students in Ukraine, out of which 4,000 had left the country before yesterday when Russia announced its decision to launch a military operation in Ukraine.

The data of Indian nationals in Ukraine was collected by the Indian Embassy in Ukraine. They had started registration of Indian nationals a month before, sensing Russia-Ukraine situation.

Shringla further added, “The Prime Minister has asked MEA to ensure that all Indian citizens in Ukraine are safely evacuated.”

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in a tweet, said, “Received a call from EU HRVP Josep Borrell. Discussed the grave situation in Ukraine and how India could contribute to de-escalation efforts.”

Earlier yesterday night, PM Modi also spoke to Russia President Vladimir Putin and expressed India’s concern regarding the safety of the Indian citizens in Ukraine, especially students.

The government of India had sent teams on Thursday to evacuate the Indian nationals from Ukraine. However, due to the closure of Ukrainian airspace the aircraft came back to New Delhi.

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