External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar told the Parliament on Tuesday, 15 March that "22,500 Indians were evacuated" from Ukraine in what was the "most challenging evacuation exercise amid an ongoing conflict."
The minister brought to the attention of the Parliament that as tensions escalated in Ukraine, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine began a registration drive in January, a month before the Russian invasion began.
He stated, "20,000 Indian nationals registered themselves... Most Indian nationals were students pursuing medical studies in Ukrainian universities dispersed throughout the country."
Talking about the universities, the minister also said that the students were not to blame as confusing signals were being provided by their colleges regarding their safety.
"We issued very clear advisories. I’d like you to understand the problems faced by the students. I have a list of universities. One big university said they would not convert to online and said if students left, it would jeopardise their careers. All members should appreciate that students were positively discouraged by the universities from leaving," Jaishankar said.
'Epicentre of the War'
Asserting that Indians were in "direct danger" and that "most of them were at the epicentre of the war," the minister also informed that under the central government's evacuation mission, 'Operation Ganga,' 90 flights had been used thus far.
Out of these, 76 were civilian flights and 14 were Indian Air Force flights.
"The evacuation flights were from Romania, Poland, Hungary & Slovakia. While IAF rose to the occasion, most of the private airlines also participated enthusiastically," he added.
The minister further went to say that the hardest aspect of the evacuation operation was ensuring the safe return of Indian nationals stranded in Kharkiv and Sumy.
"Both the places witnessed heavy shelling and airstrike," he reminded.
Talking about Naveen Sekharappa, the India student who lost his life due to Russian shelling in Ukraine, Jaishankar said: "We will ensure his mortal remains are brought back. We will make every effort."
'Dialogue and Diplomacy'
Talking about India's stance on the Ukraine war, Jaishankar said, "We have expressed what I believe is actually our national consensus. I saw that it was reflected at our consultative committee meeting. The only way is to return to dialogue and diplomacy. There should be a cessation of violence."
"India's voice today is an important voice in urging that. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine, these were actually the times when the ceasefire worked," the EAM added, while talking about India's diplomacy during the war.
Finally, the EAM stated that "there are still some people - in double digits - who are stranded in Ukraine. We are tracking them."
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