The Indian embassy in Ukraine on Tuesday, 1 March, advised Indian citizens to leave the embattled country's capital city Kyiv "urgently today" as the Russian onslaught on Ukraine continued for the sixth day.
"Advisory to Indians in Kyiv: All Indian nationals including students are advised to leave Kyiv urgently today. Preferably by available trains or through any other means available," the embassy in Ukraine tweeted.
The central government is arranging repatriation flights, as part of the ongoing Operation Ganga, for thousands of Indian nationals stranded in war-torn Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed the Indian Air Force (IAF) to join the evacuation operations, news agency ANI quoted sources as saying.
As per the report, employing IAF will expedite the evacuations and ensure enhanced efficiency in delivering humanitarian aid in the region. The IAF will reportedly deploy C-17 aircraft for the operations.
8,000 Indian Nationals Have Left Since Initial Advisories: MEA
Around 16,000 Indian nationals, including students, have been trapped in the region since Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on the country.
As per Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, of these, around 8,000 Indian nationals have left since initial advisories regarding the crisis.
The MEA statement had indicated, "Evacuation efforts on Ukraine situation on the ground continue to be complex and fluid, some of them quite concerning, but we've been able to accelerate evacuation process. Over 8000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine since we issued the initial advisories."
It added that six evacuation flights, four from Bucharest in Romania, and two from Budapest in Hungary, had landed in India as of Monday.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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