New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi called another high-level meeting on Saturday evening to discuss the situation in war-hit Ukraine and India’s evacuation efforts to bring back its citizens, official sources said.
Since Sunday, Modi has chaired a number of such meetings, as his government works to bring back Indian students who have been scrambling to leave Ukraine after Russia launched an attack on it.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his cabinet colleague Piyush Goyal were part of the meeting chaired by Modi, besides several top bureaucrats.
India has launched “Operation Ganga” to evacuate its nationals and sent four Union ministers as the prime minister’s special envoys to Ukraine’s neighbours to coordinate the exercise.
India on Saturday said its main focus now is on the evacuation of around 700 Indian students stranded in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy which has been witnessing bombings and airstrikes.
At a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India hopes to evacuate its citizens from Kharkiv and Pisochyn in the next few hours.
“Our main focus is now on evacuating Indian students from Sumy. We are exploring multiple options for their evacuation,” he said.
Russia launched the military offensive against Ukraine on February 24.
Meanwhile, Indian envoy to Ukraine Partha Satpathy on Saturday said no stone will be left unturned for the safe evacuation of Indian students from the conflict-stricken eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy as he hailed the unparalleled strength and fortitude displayed by the young citizens in dealing with the adversities.
Satpathy made the remarks in a message that came hours after the Indian students in Sumy posted videos, saying they have decided to leave for the Russian border and that the Indian government and the embassy in Ukraine will be responsible if anything happens to them.
Following the embassy’s assurance, the students did not leave the eastern Ukrainian city that has been witnessing intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops.
“The last two weeks have been extremely harrowing and challenging for all of us. Hardly anyone would have ever witnessed such pain and disruption in our lives,” Satpathy said.
“Nonetheless, I am proud of the maturity and fortitude displayed by our Indian nationals, especially young Indian students, in continuing to stay brave during these difficult times,” he said.
His message was posted on Twitter by the Indian embassy in Kyiv.
“Our embassy will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to ensure the safe evacuation of Indian students. I know that our students have been through a lot and have shown unparalleled strength and determination during these times,” Satpathy said.
“I urge you for some more patience and forbearance so that we can ensure your safety and security,” he added.
