Nineteen evacuation flights will operate today to bring back 3,726 Indian nationals stranded in war-torn Ukraine. These flights will operate from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries, to which Indians are being taken via land routes because Ukrainian airspace is closed.
“Under Operation Ganga, 3726 Indians will be brought back home today on 8 flights from Bucharest, 2 flights from Suceava, 1 flight from Kosice, 5 flights from Budapest and 3 flights from Rzeszow,” civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted.
“With all hands on deck and (under) the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, we will get 3,726 of our people back home today. Jai Hind!” Scindia wrote on the microblogging site.
The above announcement comes as the government increases flights under Operation Ganga – which was launched to bring back Indian nationals from war-ravaged Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale attack on February 24.
Currently, Scindia is in Romania to coordinate evacuation efforts along with three other Union ministers- Hardeep Singh Puri (Hungary), Kiren Rijiju (Slovakia) and General (retd) VK Singh (Poland).
Given the closure of Ukrainian air space for civilian flights, India has been evacuating its nationals through special flights from Ukraine’s western neighbours such as Romania, Hungary and Poland.
As many as 17,000 Indians have been evacuated from Ukraine so far since advisories were issued.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has also joined the evacuation efforts and has brought back stranded Indians in four flights. All four aircraft of the IAF were the C-17 military transport.
Prime Minister Modi has said the government was working round the clock to bring back Indians from Ukraine, adding that it will leave no stone unturned to ensure that every Indian reaches home safely.