Ukraine crisis: 26 flights scheduled to bring back Indians in next 3 days, says govt

Over next three days, 26 flights have been scheduled to bring back Indian citizens, Foreign Secretary of India Harsh V Shringla said on Tuesday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting on the ongoing Ukraine crisis.

"The meeting began with an expression of deep regret and condolences on the tragic death of Naveen Shekharappa, an Indian student who was studying at Kharkiv National Medical University. The PM conveyed his deep anguish on the loss of the life of an Indian national," the Foreign Secretary said during a press briefing in New Delhi.

Shringla also said, "Over the next 3 days, 26 flights have been scheduled to bring out Indian citizens apart from Bucharest and Budapest," adding that airports in Poland and Slovak Republic will also be used.

Updating on government's evacuation drive, Shringla said, "We had an estimated 20,000 Indian students in Ukraine at the time that we issued our first advisory. From that number approximately 12,000 have since left Ukraine, which is 60 per cent of the total number of our citizens in Ukraine."

He also added that of the remaining 40 per cent, roughly half remain in conflict zone in Kharkiv, Sumy area and the other half have either reached the western borders of Ukraine or are heading towards the western part of Ukraine - they are generally out of conflict areas.

Shringla also said that all Indian nationals have left Kyiv. "The information with us is that we have no more nationals left in Kyiv, nobody has contacted us from Kyiv since. All our inquiries reveal that each and every one of our nationals has come out of Kyiv."

"Earlier this afternoon I separately called in the Ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine. I reiterated strongly our demand for urgent safe passage for all Indian nationals who are still in Kharkiv and other cities in the conflict area," he further informed.

Meanwhile, at least 10 people were killed and 35 others were injured after a rocket hit Ukraine's second-biggest city Kharkiv on Tuesday, according to Kyiv's Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko. "Freedom Square was hit by a cruise missile. There was a second hit by a similar rocket that hit the building after the rescuers arrived (in 5-7 minutes). One-third of the administration building fell," Herashchenko said in a post on Telegram, according to CNN.

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