New Delhi: Despite the challenging situation in Ukraine, the Union Government was able to evacuate about 22,500 Indian citizens from the country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The Minister also said that the Government launched Operation Ganga under the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and undertook one of the most challenging evacuation processes during a conflict situation. "At the direction of the Prime Minister, we launched Operation Ganga, thereby undertaking one of the most challenging evacuation exercises during an ongoing conflict situation. Our community was dispersed across Ukraine, posing its own logistical challenges," said Jaishankar.
"The exercise was undertaken at a time when military actions such as airstrikes and shelling, were underway. It involved movement in a war-torn situation in a large country, at times over 1,000 kilometres and required exiting border checkpoints clogged by an estimated 26 lakh refugees," he added. The Union Minister also said that the entire exercise involved a holistic Government approach with the Prime Minister chairing meetings almost on a daily basis.
"At MEA, we monitored evacuation ops 24X7. We got excellent support from all concerned ministries and organisations including MoCA, Defence, NDRF, IAF, private airlines," he said. "As tensions increased, Indian Embassy in Ukraine started a registration drive for Indians in January 2022. As a result, around 20,000 Indians registered. Most Indian nationals were students pursuing medical studies in Ukrainian universities dispersed throughout the country," the Minister said.
He added that more than half of the concerned students were in universities in eastern Ukraine which is close to the border with Russia and has been the epicentre of conflict so far. "Students hailed from 35 states and Union Territories of India with over 1,000 each from Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar and Rajasthan," he said.
