New Delhi: Indian students, who were stranded in Sumy region of war-hit Ukraine are expected to arrive in India tonight (Wednesday) on flights under Operation Ganga.
Puneet Singh Chandhok, an activist and president of the Indian World Forum, tweeted: “#IndiansInUkraine have arrived at #Poltava from #Sumy and have boarded the train to #lyviv. Team of @IndiainUkraine is onboard with them. They are expected to arrive today midnight back home thru #OperationGanga. Wishing all happy ,safe and smooth journey. #UkraineRussianWar.”
On Tuesday, the 500-odd Indian students stranded in Sumy were moved out of the eastern Ukrainian city, the MEA had informed.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the students would board a train to western Ukrainian and that flights under Operation Ganga are being readied to bring them home.
The students from Sumy State University were unable to leave due to the large-scale fighting going on there.
They were able to move out after Russia announced a local ceasefire and setting up of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to evacuate the place.
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PM Modi in his phone conversation with the Russian and Ukrainian leadership on Monday had asked for support to bring the Indians out from Sumy.
Several educational institutions are based in Sumy which accounts for the high number of of international students living there. Since the invasion by Russia on February 24, the city has come under under heavy shelling and witnessed severe firing between Ukrainian and Russian forces.
Indian and other international students have been going on social media, pleading to be evacuated quickly. However, because of the intense shelling and fighting between the two forces, the Indian government was finding it hard to get the stranded Indians out of the area. The Indian mission’s teams on the ground also found it difficult to get them out as there was no safe corridor to use. Even supplying water and food was difficult.
Agencies
