Ukraine-Russia war: PM Modi chairs high-level meeting, says students' safety and evacuation top priority

Pic courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: The Ukraine-Russia conflict continued on Sunday as tensions entered its fourth day. As India continues with its evacuation of nationals via Ukraine's neighbouring nations, back home in the capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting on the Ukraine crisis, official sources said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was part of the meeting which was also attended by top government officials.

Modi presided over the meeting immediately upon his return from Uttar Pradesh, where he addressed rallies as part of the BJP's campaign for the state assembly polls. According to government sources, the PM's meeting lasted for over 2 hours. Modi said that "ensuring the safety of our students and evacuating them is our top priority". It was discussed to further enhance cooperation with neighbouring countries of Ukraine to expedite evacuation, said sources.

A large number of Indians, mostly students, are stranded in Ukraine following Russia's attack on the country. India has begun evacuating them, and over 900 people have been brought back since Saturday. Modi has also spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, with India calling for dialogue to defuse the crisis. 

Meanwhile, India on Sunday evacuated as many as 688 more nationals from war-hit Ukraine on three Air India flights and said it was in touch with the other countries in that region to ensure the return of all its stranded citizens as concerns mounted over their safety.
Approximately 13,000 Indians are in Ukraine as of now, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who received the evacuees at the Delhi airport this morning, said. Around a thousand Indians have already been flown out of Romania and Hungary and another 1,000 have been evacuated from Ukraine through the land routes, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told a media briefing.

Scenes of tearful reunion were seen at the Delhi airport after two Air India flights from Romanian capital Bucharest and one from Hungarian capital Budapest arrived in Delhi with 688 Indian nationals on Sunday. IndiGo also said it will operate two flights to Budapest via Istanbul on Monday and Tuesday from Delhi to bring back Indians. The first evacuation flight from Bucharest with 219 people on board had landed in Mumbai a day earlier under Operation Ganga and many of the returnees reached their home states. The Ukrainian airspace has been closed for civil aircraft operations since February 24 morning when the Russian military offensive began. Therefore, the Indian evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest and Budapest.

(With inputs from Ravindra Kumar and Agency)