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As Russia launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, India has stepped up its efforts to assist Indians who are seeking safe passage from the war-hit eastern European country. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in its latest statement today said that to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine, the MEA teams are being sent to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has also allowed passengers travelling from Ukraine to travel by transit under India- Qatar bilateral air bubble arrangement.
Earlier, India had said it'll resume the air services to the war-hit Ukraine after the country will open its air space. “Flights were flown for Ukraine earlier. Today also flights were flown to Ukraine but after 3 hours when things started escalating those flights came back. Whenever the air-space will open, we'll fly the flights again," said Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Union Minister for Civil Aviation.
India cancels special flights to Kyiv
India had earlier today cancelled special flights to Kyiv after Ukraine shut airspace today. The Indian embassy in the country also issued helpline numbers to facilitate Indians stuck in the country. An Air India plane, had, however, taken off for Ukraine on Thursday morning to bring back Indians from the eastern European nation, which is now facing a Russian offensive, but was called back midway due to the closure of Ukrainian airspace.
The Indian government's decision came hours after Ukraine said that it had closed its airspace to civilian flights because of a "high risk" to safety. Europe's aviation regulator also warned about the hazards of “flying in bordering areas of Russia and Belarus" because of military activities.
Indian students stranded in Ukraine
There are about 18,000 Indian students in Ukraine and a large chunk of them are medical students. The Indian Embassy in Kyiv issued a notice on Thursday afternoon stating that the scheduled special flights were cancelled because the Ukranian air space was closed.
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