Evacuation of 694 students stuck in Ukraine's Sumy begins: Minister Puri
A plan to evacuate them was scrapped yesterday after Ukraine rejected a Russian proposal for a humanitarian corridor to Russia and Belarus.
New Delhi: Union Minister Hardeep Sing Puri has said that the evacuation of over 600 Indian students stranded in Sumy, Ukraine, has begun on Tuesday.
He said reporters that 694 Indian students who had been stuck in Sumy have boarded buses bound for Poltava."When I checked with the control room last night, 694 Indian students remained in Sumy. Today, they all boarded buses bound for Poltava "Puri said.
Sumy, located near the Russian border and around 350 kilometres east of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, has been the scene of severe conflict for days. An airstrike in the city today killed at least nine people, including two toddlers.
Students were requesting the government through their social media accounts and were tagging special Twitter accounts created for the evacuation of the stranded Indian students. The city was witnessing continuous attacks from neighbouring Russia and the students were stuck in that city with depleting food and water.
The authorities, however, discouraged them by contacting them and requesting that they "avoid needless risks."
A plan to evacuate them was scrapped yesterday after Ukraine rejected a Russian proposal for a humanitarian corridor to Russia and Belarus.
Since the last week of January, around 21,000 Indians have left Ukraine; approximately 16,000 of them have been evacuated on aircraft organised by the government as part of Operation Ganga.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Symbiosis University Golden Jubilee commemoration celebration said, “ You've seen how, under Operation Ganga, India is safely removing its nationals from the conflict zone. Many large countries are having difficulty doing so. "However, it is because of India's growing impact that we have brought thousands of students back to their country," Modi said.
