The central Govt says evacuation plan being chalking out as nearly 16,000 Indians still in Ukraine

The central government is working out plans to evacuate nearly 16,000 Indians from Ukraine amid the ongoing invasion by Russia.

According to reports, the government is working out a plan to carry out the evacuation with assistance from Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia.

Foreign Secretary Harshvardhan Shringla in a press conference on Thursday said that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has dispatched Russian speaking officers to Kyiv and neighbouring countries to facilitate the evacuation of Indian students and nationals stranded in Ukraine.

“Neighbouring countries have been asked to send their officers to border areas to facilitate entry of Indian nationals. We have asked some officers to go to border areas to set up makeshift facilitation centres,” the Foreign Secretary said.

The Prime Minister has asked MEA to ensure that all Indian citizens in Ukraine are safely



evacuated, he added.

"We’ve told the Defence Ministry we’ll need provisions for airlifting. In that case, IAF can go. And commercial aircraft can go too. All options are on the table," the Foreign Secretary said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will speak with counterparts from Ukraine and these countries to assist in evacuation operations.

According to the MEA, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine started the registration of Indian nationals a month ago, anticipating Russian aggression. There were at least 20,000 Indian nationals, including students in Ukraine. Out of these, 4000 left the country before Russia announced its decision to launch a special military operation in Ukraine.

The Indian Embassy in Ukraine has issued three advisories in five hours and the government has launched 24-hour helpline numbers to assist Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine, following the Russian invasion.