Operation Ganga: 17,000 Indians left Ukraine, 15 flights scheduled in next 24 hours

New Delhi, March 2: The Union Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday said nearly 17,000 Indian nationals had left Ukraine's border since the first travel advisory was issued by the Indian Embassy in Kyiv and as many as 15 flights were scheduled over the next 24 hours as party of Operation Ganga. Also read | Operation Ganga: All arrangements in place for travel of evacuated Indians from Ukraine, says Union Minister Jitendra Singh

Speaking at a special briefing on Operation Ganga to bring back Indian citizens from Ukraine amid Russia's military operation, MEA official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "I am happy to inform that there has been a sharp increase in the number of Indians who have left Ukraine. We now estimate that nearly 17,000 Indian nationals left Ukraine's border since our advisories were issued, this, of course, includes some Indians who have not registered with the embassy earlier." Bagchi also informed that flights under Operation Ganga had increased sharply, saying "Flights under Operation Ganga have also increased sharply. During the last 24 hours, six flights have landed in India taking the total number of flights that have landed in India to 15 and the total numbers of Indians who returned including this flight to 3,352." Highlighting the ongoing evacuation operations, he said, "I am also happy to share, as many as 15 flights are scheduled over next 24 hours, some of these are already en route," adding, "the Indian Air Force aircraft has joined Operation Ganga with the first C17 flight from Bucharest expected to return today in Delhi from Bucharest later tonight." "Indian Air Force aircraft have joined Operation Ganga with the first C-17 flight from Bucharest (Romania) expected to return to Delhi later tonight. 3 more IAF flights will be undertaken today from Budapest (Hungary), Bucharest (Romania) & Rzeszow (Poland)," Bagchi added. Giving insight into the present situation in Ukraine, he said the cities in eastern Ukraine remained areas of concern for India due to continuing violence. Also read | Watch video: Indians not being allowed to board trains, we can't leave Kharkiv, say Indian students in Ukraine However, he said there were encouraging reports that some students were able to board trains out of Kharkiv Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning and "we assisted in this process through the student contractors and other partners," Bagchi said. Regarding Wednesday's advisories to Indian nationals, he said India had been in communication with the Russian side regarding the safe passage of Indian nationals from Kharkiv and other nearby cities. "The advisory that has been just issued by our Embassy a little while ago and also by us on the need for our nationals to leave Kharkiv immediately is on the basis of information received from Russia. We would urge all our nationals to leave Kharkiv immediately to the safe zones or further westwards using any means available including on foot, keeping safety in mind," said Bagchi. Bagchi reiterated that India was also trying to make arrangements for shelter and food in towns near the borders. Moreover, he said after the arrival of Indian officials at Lviv office, the evacuation process would be strengthened and the Indian embassy would be able to assist people crossing the borders. -PTC News