New Delhi: India has started evacuating its citizens from war-hit Ukraine, with two flights leaving for Bucharest – one from Delhi and the other from Mumbai – to fly back Indians who have managed to reach the Ukraine-Romania border.
These two flights are being chartered by the government of India so that those being evacuated home to safety are not required to pay for the tickets.
The Indian government will bear all expenses of evacuation mission. ‘Bringing back Indians safely from Ukraine is a key priority of the government and this is being monitored at the highest level by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Every possible attempt is being made,’ government sources said.
The Ukrainian airspace was closed for civil aircraft operations by the country’s authorities on Thursday morning and therefore, the evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest.
The Indian embassy in Ukraine on Friday said it is working to establish evacuation routes from Romania and Hungary.
‘At present, teams are getting in place at the following check points: Chop-Zahony Hungarian border near Uzhhorod, Porubne-Siret Romanian border near Chernivtsi,’ it said.
Indian nationals, especially students, living closest to these border checkpoints are advised to depart in an organised manner in coordination with teams from the Ministry of External Affairs to actualise this option, the embassy said.
The External Affairs ministry along with the Embassy in Kyiv have been working to help citizens to safety in the war-ravaged country, issuing advisories, setting up round-the-clock helplines, identifying and sharing safe routes out of the area.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla spoke about the measures undertaken to facilitate flights out of Ukraine. ‘This includes removing the cap on the number of passengers that could fly out of Ukraine. We ensured that the number of flights were augmented rapidly – from about twice a week to about two flights a day – and that enabled us to get at least 4,000 of our citizens and students out.’