Russia-Ukraine crisis: Union Minister Hardeep Singh assures evacuation of Indians

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi high-level meeting on the Ukraine crisis, Union Minister Hardeep Singh, who is on his way to to Budapest to evacuate all the stranded Indians from war-torn Ukraine, tweeted," All set to bring back our young students back home safely. Enroute to #Budapest with a refuelling stop in Istanbul with the ever efficient 6E boys & girls".

New Delhi:A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi high-level meeting on the Ukraine crisis,Union Minister Hardeep Singh, who is on his way to to Budapest to evacuate all the stranded Indians from war-torn Ukraine, tweeted,"All set to bring back our young students back home safely. Enroute to #Budapest with a refuelling stop in Istanbul with the ever efficient 6E boys & girls".

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked the Indian Air Force to join the evacuation efforts, said sources. The sources said that leveraging the capacities of the Air Force will ensure that more people can be evacuated in a shorter time frame. It will also help to deliver humanitarian aid more efficiently, sources added. Indian Air Force is likely to deploy several C-17 aircrafts as part of 'Operation Ganga' from today. The Union government has launched 'Operation Ganga' to bring back stranded students and Indian citizens from the conflict-torn Ukraine. Special flights are being operated by Air India as part of the 'Operation Ganga' mission.

On Monday, PM Modi while presiding over a high-level meeting over the Ukraine crisis said that the entire government machinery is working round-the-clock to ensure that all stranded Indians in Ukraine are safe and secure, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. This was the second high-level meeting chaired by the Prime Minister during the day over the prevailing situation in Ukraine.

'Special Envoys', including Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and Gen (Retd) VK Singh, will travel to neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate evacuations of stranded Indians amid ongoing Russian military operations in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Union government has launched 'Operation Ganga' to bring back stranded students and citizens from the conflict-torn Ukraine. Special flights are being operated by Air India as part of the 'Operation Ganga' mission.