The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday that the government’s advice is based on inputs from Russia, asking Indians to leave Kharkiv in Ukraine at the earliest. The Indian government is working with Russian and Ukrainian authorities to ensure safe passage for more than 20,000 civilians trapped in conflict zones.
“There has been a rapid increase in the number of Indians leaving Ukraine. It is estimated that about 17,000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine’s borders so far,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a press conference.
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that during the last 24 hours, 6 flights have reached India, taking the total number of flights in India to 15 and the total number of Indians returning from these flights is 3,352. He added, “15 flights have been scheduled in the next 24 hours. Some of these are already on the way currently.”
Arindam Bagchi said that the Indians who are stranded in Kharkiv, have been issued an advisory to move them to some other place immediately. For this, three places near Kharkiv (Pisochin, Bezludovka and Babe) have been designated as safe zones. Citizens were asked to reach these areas by 6 pm (Ukrainian time) today.
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MEA spokesperson said that Indian Air Force aircraft C-17 has joined Operation Ganga from Bucharest (Romania), the aircraft is expected to return to Delhi tonight. Three more IAF flights will be launched today from Budapest (Hungary), Bucharest (Romania) and Rzeszow (Poland).
“The advisory has been issued based on the inputs received from the Russian side. We have not decided on our own the place and time in the advisory, it is based on inputs,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
On the death of another Indian student in Ukraine, the MEA spokesperson said, “An Indian national, Chandan Jindal, who lives in Ukraine, has died of natural causes. His family is also in Ukraine.”
On Indian people who lost their passports during the conflict, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said that a mechanism has been put in place to issue emergency certificates to those who have lost their Indian passports. I think this will help many Indian students as well.
In response to whether PM Narendra Modi will talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin again tonight, Arindam Bagchi said that PM is talking to leaders of many countries. Whenever such conversations happen, we share with you. I don’t want to say anything in advance.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the embassy (in Kyiv) was asked to set up a temporary office in Lviv to facilitate crossing of the border by Indians. A large part of our Embassy team is now in Lviv for this purpose. The location of the second section of the Embassy team is dynamic.
He added, “We are exploring options to reach eastern Ukraine to help rescue civilians trapped there. We are looking to see if our teams can get there, it is not easy because the road is not open all the time. “
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