A total of six evacuation flights have landed in India until now with 1,400 nationals who were stranded in war-torn Ukraine after the Russian military offensive, said the central government on Monday.
“As of now, six flights have arrived carrying around 1,400 Indian citizens. Four flights have arrived from Bucharest (Romania) and two flights from Budapest (Hungary)," said Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs.
Further, he said that 8,000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine since the advisory issued by the government of India.
Bagchi also confirmed that India plans to send four senior ministers to Ukraine's border nations to help in the rescue of thousands of its citizens.
Union minister of civil aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia will be overseeing evacuation operations of stranded Indians in Romania and Moldova, while minister of Law Kiren Rijiju will be visiting Slovakia.
Minister of petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri will be overlooking operations in Hungary, and minister of state in the ministry of road transport Gen (Retd) VK Singh will manage evacuations in Poland.
This comes as the sixth evacuation flight from Hungary’s capital Budapest carrying 240 Indian nationals landed at the Delhi airport on Monday. The fifth evacuation flight came from the Romanian capital Bucharest to Delhi earlier during the day.
India began the evacuation of its citizens from Romania and Hungary — neighbouring countries of Ukraine — from Saturday onwards.
The country had on Sunday evacuated 688 more nationals from war-hit Ukraine on three Air India flights and said it was in touch with the other countries in that region to ensure the return of all its stranded citizens.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met senior officials to discuss evacuation efforts, amid rising concerns back home about the safety of some 16,000 Indians still in Ukraine, most of them students.
Indians make up about a quarter of the 76,000 foreign students studying in Ukraine, mainly on medical courses, according to official estimates.
Indian embassy's advisory
Meanwhile, Indian Embassy in Ukraine has issued a second advisory for the Indian nationals and advised them to reach the railway station as the weekend curfew in the city has been lifted.
"Weekend curfew lifted in Kyiv. All students are advised to make their way to the railway station for onward journey to the western parts," said the advisory.
It added that Ukraine Railways is putting special trains for evacuations. It urged Indian nationals/students to remain calm, peaceful and united.
"A large crowd can be expected at the railway stations, therefore, it is advised that all Indian students remain patient, composed and especially not to exhibit aggressive behaviours while at the railway stations," as per the advisory.
It also alerted students for the possible delay in trains' schedule, even cancellation at times and long queues. It guided the Indian students to carry their passport, sufficient cash, ready to eat meals, easily accessible winter clothing and only essential items, to ensure easy mobility.
Exemption in travel guidelines for evacuees
The central government also announced earlier in the day that Indians being evacuated from Ukraine have been exempted from pre-boarding RT-PCR test, providing Covid vaccination certificates and uploading those on the Air Suvidha portal.
It said the International Travel Guidelines have been revised and some exemptions allowed on humanitarian grounds for those arriving from Ukraine.
Individuals who have completed their Covid-19 vaccination, irrespective of the country of departure/inoculation, have been allowed to leave the arrival airport in India with the advice to self-monitor their health for the next 14 days, it said.
If a traveller is not able to submit a pre-arrival RT-PCR test or who has not completed their Covid-19 vaccination, they have been allowed to submit their samples on arrival with the advice to self-monitor their health for 14 days after arrival.
If tested Covid positive, they shall be clinically managed according to laid down protocol, the ministry said.
