A special flight operated under “Operation Ganga” on Sunday landed in Delhi with as many as 183 Indians who were stranded in Ukraine. The flight departed from Budapest, the capital of Ukraine’s neighbouring country Hungary on Saturday.
News agency ANI reported that the students were welcomed by Union minister Bhupender Yadav at Indira Gandhi International Airport. He also interacted with the students.
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Ukraine has been fighting Russian forces for the last ten days after Vladimir Putin launched a full-blown invasion of the east European nation. With tensions continuing to escalate, several countries, including India have been evacuating their citizens from Ukraine.
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Earlier on Saturday, a special flight carrying 154 Indian nationals were evacuated from Ukraine via Slovakia.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired a high-level meeting on the Ukraine conflict which was attended by the Union minister for external affairs S Jaishankar, foreign secretary of India Harsh Vardhan Shringla and other top officials.
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PM Modi has been chairing frequent meetings with senior officials and Union ministers amid the escalating crisis in Ukraine.
The ministry of external affairs on Saturday said that over 13,300 people have returned to India so far under the ‘Operation Ganga’ from crisis-ridden Ukraine.
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The ministry also informed that almost all Indians have left Kharkiv city in Ukraine and the main focus of the government is to evacuate citizens from the Sumy area as it is challenging amid ongoing violence and lack of transportation.
The government is constantly urging stranded students to remain inside shelters. The ministry of external affairs said the government was strongly pressing Russian and Ukrainian governments through multiple channels for an immediate ceasefire to create a safe corridor for evacuations.