A Pakistani citizen was among 17 foreign nationals who were rescued by India from Sumy in Ukraine where they were stuck for about a fortnight amid continuous bombing by Russia. Official sources said besides the Pakistani woman, Asma Shafique, a Nepalese citizen, two Tunisian and 13 Bangladeshi nationals were rescued by India, along with nearly 700 Indian citizens.
All these people were evacuated from Sumy on Tuesday by the Indian Embassy with help from the International Committee of Red Cross, after Russia and Ukraine agreed to create a humanitarian corridor following separate telephonic conversations Prime Minister Narendra Modi had with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Besides the students, about 20 Indians working in Sumy and their family members were also rescued by India. These evacuees have boarded a special train from Poltava and are likely to board a flight to India from Poland on Thursday. The train will take the students to Lviv in western Ukraine, from where they will be taken to Poland in buses, Anshad Ali, a student coordinator, informed. The distance between Poltava and Lviv is around 888 km.
Covering hundreds of miles across Ukraine, using multiple means of transport, the students are being evacuated from the war-hit east European country after their two weeks of excruciating stay in beleaguered Sumy.
The Indian government is carrying out a most delicate and challenging evacuation exercise under ‘Operation Ganga’ to help stranded Indians leave Ukraine.
