New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting Monday morning to discuss the safety and evacuation of stranded citizens in Ukraine.
It was decided that ministers Hardeep Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and General V K Singh would travel to Ukraine’s neighbouring countries to coordinate the evacuation mission.
These will travel as special envoys of India.
Nearly 20,000 Indian nationals were in Ukraine at the time of Russia’s invasion
Around 16,000 students are still believed to be stuck in the conflict-torn country, hiding in hostel basements and bomb shelters, government sources said.
Opposition parties have shared videos of scared students appealing to the government to be taken out of the country.
Only a few anticipated the imminent attack and were able to fly out before Ukraine shut its airspace on Thursday.
Modi had also held a meeting on Sunday evening to review the progress of evacuation.
Earlier on Sunday, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said four flights have so far brought back several students from Ukraine.
He said the government had launched the ‘multi-pronged’ Operation Ganga to evacuate citizens stranded in Ukraine.
Also read: PM Modi to hold high-level meeting on Ukraine crisis
Source: The Print
