Dr. S. Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister, made a statement on the Ukraine issue in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha today. Despite the challenges posed by the serious conflict in Ukraine, we were able to ensure that around 22,500 Indian citizens returned to India safely, according to Jaishankar. Indians were brought back from 35 states and union territories during this time.
On the Prime Minister’s orders, Operation Ganga was launched.
According to the External Affairs Minister, “on the Prime Minister’s instructions, we launched Operation Ganga,” in which a difficult evacuation operation was carried out during the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.” For this reason, our community was present in various parts of Ukraine, where they were confronted with challenges.
PM Modi, he claimed, reviewed the campaign on a daily basis. We at the Ministry of External Affairs kept a close eye on the evacuation operations 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All concerned Ministries and Organizations, including the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Ministry of Defence, the NDRF, the Air Force, and private airlines, provided us with excellent support.
More than half of the students were from Ukraine’s east.
He claimed that more than half of the students were enrolled in universities in eastern Ukraine, which borders Russia and has long been a source of conflict. Ukraine has been evacuated of students from 35 states and territories.
A total of 90 flights were made.
Operation Ganga involved 90 flights, 76 of which were civilian flights and 14 of which were Indian Air Force flights. Romania, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia provided evacuation flights. The Indian Air Force played a major role in the event, and most private airlines were also enthusiastic participants.
Despite our efforts, many students expressed a desire to remain in Ukraine. It was natural for him to avoid leaving educational institutions and allowing his studies to suffer. Some universities have expressed a reluctance to offer online courses.
Due to the ongoing escalation of tensions in February, the embassy issued an advisory on February 15, 2022, advising Indians in Ukraine who were not required to stay to leave the country temporarily. It was also advised that Indians avoid travelling to Ukraine or making non-essential movements within the country.
The registration drive for Indians has begun.
In January 2022, as tensions between India and Ukraine grew, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine launched a registration drive for Indians. As a result, approximately 20,000 Indians signed up. The majority of the Indian nationals were medical students at universities across Ukraine.
The operation took place during a period of military action, air strikes, and shelling. The campaign continued in a large, war-torn country, sometimes stretching over 1,000 kilometres, with an estimated 26 million refugees attempting to cross closed border posts.
On several occasions, the Prime Minister met with the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine. He brought up the issue of safe evacuation of Indians from Kharkiv and Sumi in particular. The Prime Minister met with the presidents of Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland to discuss ways to make it easier for Indians to enter their countries.
Prime Minister Modi met with the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine.
To aid Operation Ganga, the Prime Minister dispatched four Union Ministers as special envoys to Romania, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, and Poland. General VK Singh of Poland, Jyotiraditya Scindia of Romania, Kiren Rijiju of the Slovak Republic, Hardeep Singh Puri of Hungary, and Jyotiraditya Scindia of Romania
The evacuation of Indians from Sumi was extremely difficult due to the possibility of our students being caught in the crossfire. For their evacuation from the city, they needed a credible armistice. This was ultimately due to the prime minister’s personal meddling with the presidents of Ukraine and Russia.
Foreign nationals were also evacuated from conflict zones and brought to India in accordance with India’s Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam principle. There were 147 people from 18 different countries among them. Several Ukrainian nationals who are Indian nationals’ family members have also been evacuated.
