Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday re-emphasised the need to ensure the safety of Indian students in Ukraine and their evacuation from the strife-torn region, which remains New Delhi’s top priority. Government sources told News18 that in a high-level meeting, which lasted for over two hours and chaired by PM Modi, it was discussed to further enhance cooperation with neighbouring countries of Ukraine to expedite the evacuation of Indians.
Modi presided over the meeting immediately upon his return from Uttar Pradesh, where he addressed rallies as part of the BJP’s campaign for the state assembly polls. A large number of Indians, mostly students, have been stuck in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of its southern neighbour.
India has begun evacuating its nationals stuck in Ukraine, and over 900 people have been brought back since Saturday. Modi has also spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, with India calling for dialogue to defuse the crisis.
Meanwhile, a fourth evacuation flight carrying 198 Indians from the Romanian capital Bucharest left for India on Sunday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said. Following the closure of Ukrainian airspace, India is facilitating the evacuation of stranded Indians from Ukraine through its land border crossings with Romania, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
The Indian embassy in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv put out a fresh circular on Sunday advising the Indian nationals and students to move out of areas of active conflict and “proceed towards Western regions”. The embassy advised the Indian citizens to use the Railways as the mode of transport stating that it was “operational and safer”.
A second circular issued by the embassy informed that there was intense fighting in Kharkiv, Sumy and Khiv and advised the Indians to not move during curfew times.
(With PTI inputs)
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