new Delhi: Referring to the evacuation of 22,500 Indian nationals, including students, from war-torn Ukraine in difficult and challenging conditions, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that no other country could evacuate as many of its citizens as India did and for this the Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself found a way out by talking to the Presidents of Russia, Ukraine and other neighboring countries.
In his statement first in the Rajya Sabha and later in the Lok Sabha on ‘the situation in Ukraine and its impact on India’ on Tuesday, Jaishankar said that “Operation Ganga” which was carried out to evacuate Indians from war-torn Ukraine, was the challenging evacuation carried out so far. One of the campaigns was “On the instructions of Prime Minister Modi, we launched Operation Ganga, one of the most challenging tasks during a conflict situation,” he said.
“Despite the difficult and challenging environment, we have ensured that around 22,500 citizens return home safely,” Jaishankar said. He said that in the operation to evacuate Indians from Ukraine, the challenge was greater in Kharkiv, Sumy as there was constant shelling, air strikes.
Jaishankar said the evacuation of Indian students from the Ukrainian city of Sumy was not possible without a “credible ceasefire” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself worked out a way for it by talking to the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine. He said that Prime Minister Modi also interacted with the heads of state of Ukraine’s neighboring countries Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. He said that “there was a need for a credible ceasefire in Sumi and the prime minister himself intervened and spoke to the presidents of both countries”.
It is to be known that the Prime Minister had held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on several occasions to rescue Indians trapped in the war-torn country. External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said, “Operation Ganga shows that anywhere in crisis, Indians can trust their government.”
He said that no other country could evacuate such number of its citizens from war-torn Ukraine as India evacuated. He said that hundreds of citizens of many countries are still trapped there. Referring to the impact of the Ukraine crisis, Jaishankar said it has significant economic implications and is showing an impact on energy and product prices and will also have an impact on the global supply chain.
“At such times, there is a greater need for a self-reliant India,” he said. Regarding India’s stand on Ukraine crisis, External Affairs Minister said that India’s stand on this issue has been consistent and firm and we have asked all sides to end violence and immediately ceasefire so that people trapped there can get out safely. He said that we have said that respect for international law and territorial integrity is necessary and dialogue and diplomacy is the only way to resolve the issues.
Referring to the situation in Ukraine and the government’s efforts to evacuate Indians from there, Jaishankar said it is worth noting that the conflict situation between Russia and Ukraine has put more than 20,000 Indian community people in danger. And when India was participating in the global deliberations of this evolving situation in the United Nations Security Council, the focus was still on the safety of its citizens.
The External Affairs Minister said that as tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine had launched a registration drive for Indians in January 2022 and as a result, around 20,000 Indians registered. He said that most of the Indian nationals there were students studying medicine in Ukrainian universities spread across the country.
The foreign minister said more than half of these students were in universities in eastern Ukraine, which borders Russia and which have been the epicenter of the conflict. He said that among the students present there were students from 35 states/UTs of India including the states of Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar and Rajasthan.
Jaishankar said that seeing the continuing escalation of tensions in February, the Indian Embassy issued an advisory on 15 February 2022, advising Indians in Ukraine who do not need to stay there, to leave. He also pointed out that some universities in Ukraine discouraged students from leaving.
Apart from this, Indians have also been advised by the embassy not to travel to Ukraine or to do non-essential movement within Ukraine, he said. Apart from this, advisories were also issued on February 20 and 22. The Foreign Minister said that our effort was made at a time when military action, air strikes and shelling were going on in Ukraine.
He said the entire exercise involved a complete mechanism with Prime Minister Modi himself presiding over the review meetings almost daily and the evacuation operations were monitored on a 24-hour basis in the Ministry of External Affairs. Jaishankar said that in this we have got excellent support from all the ministries, various organizations including private airlines.
He said that our embassies in Ukraine and neighboring countries worked in good coordination. Jaishankar said that sending Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju, Hardeep Singh Puri and VK Singh as observers was of great benefit. He said that following the tradition of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, 147 foreign nationals were also brought out under ‘Operation Ganga’.