The Indian Air Force's three evacuation flights with 628 Indians from the Romanian capital Bucharest, Hungary's Budapest and Polish city Rzeszow landed at Hindon airbase in Delhi in the early hours of Thursday, sources said.
The Indian Air Force's first flight — which was conducted using C-17 military transport aircraft — carrying 200 people from Bucharest landed at 1.30 am and Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt welcomed them at the airbase, they noted.
All three IAF flights were conducted using C-17 military transport aircraft, sources said.
As part of #OpGanga, the first #IAF C-17 returned to Hindan airbase near Delhi, from Bucharest on 03 March at 1:00 AM carrying 200 passengers, mostly students.#HarKaamDeshKeNaam pic.twitter.com/GYTxqOxmCE
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) March 3, 2022
India has been evacuating its citizens through special flights — Operation Ganga — from Ukraine's western neighbours such as Romania, Hungary and Poland as the Ukrainian airspace has been shut since 24 February due to the Russian military offensive. The second evacuation flight of the IAF with 220 Indians from Budapest landed at the Hindon airbase on Thursday morning, sources mentioned.
As part of ongoing #OpGanga, #IAF has deployed four C- 17 aircraft to supply relief material and evacuate Indian nationals using airfields in Romania, Poland and Hungary due to ongoing crisis in Ukraine.#HarKaamDeshKeNaam pic.twitter.com/fbaCYNXhYp — Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) March 2, 2022
A little while after the second, the IAF's third evacuation flight arrived at the airbase from Rzeszow with 208 Indians, they noted, adding the fourth flight is expected to arrive later in the morning.
Approximately 8,000 Indians, mainly students, are stranded in Ukraine, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had said on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Modi speaks to President Putin
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday and discussed the situation in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, where many Indian students are stuck amid Russia ramping up its military offensive on Ukraine's key locations.
An official statement said the two leaders discussed the safe evacuation of the Indians from the conflict areas in Ukraine and reviewed the situation, especially in Kharkiv.
India asked Russia to facilitate the safe passage of Indians from various conflict zones after the killing of an Indian student in shelling in Kharkiv on Tuesday.
At a media briefing, Russian ambassador-designate Denis Alipov said his country is working "intensely" to create a "humanitarian corridor" for a safe passage to Russian territory of the Indians stuck in Kharkiv, Sumy and other conflict zones in Ukraine.
"We have received an Indian request for the emergency evacuation of all those stuck there (Ukraine) to the Russian territory and we are now actively working on the ways and means to launch an operation to provide the humanitarian corridors so that people have the secure passage to safety to the Russian territory," he said.
Alipov said Russia is in touch with Indian authorities on the issue of Indians stuck in Kharkiv, Sumy and in the areas northeast of Ukraine.
He hoped that the humanitarian corridors will be put in place "as soon as possible".
The Modi-Putin telephonic conversation, the second between them in six days, came amid mounting concerns in India over the safety of the Indian students in Kharkiv that has been witnessing increasing fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops.
"The leaders reviewed the situation in Ukraine, especially in the city of Kharkiv where many Indian students are stuck. They discussed the safe evacuation of the Indian nationals from the conflict areas," the statement said.
India asked its nationals on Wednesday to leave Kharkiv urgently to three nearby places "even on foot".
Modi held another high-level meeting on the Ukraine crisis on Wednesday night as the four Union ministers sent to Ukraine's neighbouring countries coordinated the stepped-up rescue efforts with the deployment of planes by the IAF. Hardeep Singh Puri is in Hungary, Jyotiraditya Scindia is in Romania, Kiren Rijiju is in Slovakia and V K Singh is in Poland.
We are mounting 6 flights today in Bucharest, Romania carrying over 1200 Indian students back to India.
I thank @airindiain @IndiGo6E @FlyWithIX for rising to the challenge & working round the clock with us on the evacuation operations. #OperationGanga pic.twitter.com/Mg01ZVlG5C
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) March 2, 2022
Separately, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the "deteriorating" situation in Ukraine with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his Estonian counterpart Eva-Maria Liimets.
#OperationGanga update 9 flights taken off today from Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Poland. Includes IAF aircrafts. 6 flights more expected to depart shortly. Altogether, will bring back more than 3000 Indian nationals. pic.twitter.com/gRQ58SvtNw — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 2, 2022
Air India Flight from Bucharest
An Air India flight from Bucharest carrying 183 Indians stranded in Ukraine landed in Mumbai Thursday, an official said. An infant was among the passengers, the official said.
Minister of State Raosaheb Danve welcomed passengers of the third evacuation flight from Bucharest to Mumbai, as soon as the Air India Express Flight IX 1202 landed here around 5.30 am.
"I have been asked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to welcome you. There were around 17,000 Indians, including students, stranded there (in Ukraine) and the PM started Operation Ganga to evacuate them," Danve said, interacting with passengers, many of them students, inside the aircraft.
Around 4,000-5,000 Indians have been brought home so far and the operation will continue to bring back those still stranded there to the country, the minister said.
An Air India Express flight carrying 182 Indians from Ukraine had landed in Mumbai from the Romanian capital Bucharest on Tuesday morning. That was the second evacuation flight operated to Mumbai from Bucharest to bring back Indians from war-ravaged Ukraine since February 27.
Advisory to Indians in Ukraine
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing that the Indian embassy has asked the Indians to leave Kharkiv immediately on the basis of information from the Russian side.
"The students who cannot find vehicles or buses and are in railway station can proceed on foot to Pesochyn, Babai and Bezlydivka," the advisory, the second of the day, said.
It is learnt that the Russian side has informed India about the possible increase in intensity in fighting in Kharkiv and suggested that all Indians should leave the city.
"We now estimate that nearly 17,000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine's borders since our advisories were issued. This of course includes some Indians who had not registered with the embassy earlier," he added.
Earlier, the MEA had said 20,000 Indians were in Ukraine when India had issued the first advisory in mid-February.
Bagchi said the number of flights under "Operation Ganga" has increased sharply with 15 flights in total already landed in India.
The advisory came amid Russia stepping up its attacks on key Ukrainian cities and a day after an Indian medical student died in shelling in Kharkiv. Meanwhile, an Indian national -- Chandan Jindal -- died in Ukraine due to natural causes. He was in a hospital for the last few days after suffering an ischemic stroke.
With PTI inputs
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