On February 28, the Government of India announced that three Union Ministers, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen (Retd) VK Singh would travel to the neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate the evacuation of the Indians from the war-hit region.
Notably, Gen (Retd) VK Singh had coordinated the evacuation program Mission Raahat in 2015 to bring back Indians from war-hit Yemen when he was the MoS External Affairs. In Operation Sankat Mochan in 2016, Gen VK Singh had personally accompanied 156 Indians evacuated by Indian Air Force in a C-17 aircraft from war-hit South Sudan.
Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and Gen (Retd) VK Singh to travel to neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate the evacuation mission and help students: Govt sources#RussiaUkraineCrisis pic.twitter.com/DbaQ6U47KQ
— ANI (@ANI) February 28, 2022
Reportedly, the Ukrainian security agencies are allegedly making it difficult for Indian nationals, including students, to leave Ukraine. There have been reports that the Ukrainian agencies are not only using Indian nationals as leverage against India by putting them in a hostage-like situation but also assaulting and misbehaving with them.
A high-level meeting was called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Ukraine crisis. During the meeting, it was decided that four union ministers would travel to the war-hit region and coordinate the evacuation mission and help students to reach back home safely.
PMs meeting on #Ukraine today pic.twitter.com/7GO7fD6vN9
— Aman Sharma (@AmanKayamHai_) February 28, 2022
India raised concerns about safety of Indians at UNSC
PR/Ambassador of India to United Nations TS Tirumurti in a statement expressed concerns about the safety of Indian nationals in Ukraine as reports had emerged of them being assaulted and harassed by the Ukrainian agencies. He said, “We continue to be deeply concerned about the safety and security of Indian nationals, including a large number of Indian students, who are still stranded in Ukraine.”
#IndiainUNSC
— India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) February 27, 2022
UNSC’s consideration of draft resolution referring the situation in #Ukraine to the #UNGA
📺Watch: India’s Explanation of Vote by Permanent Representative @AmbTSTirumurti ⤵️@MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/dxHES1bSvb
He further added, “Our evacuation efforts have been adversely impacted by the complex and uncertain situation at the border crossings. It is important to maintain an uninterrupted and predictable movement of people. It is an urgent humanitarian necessity that must be immediately addressed.”
In UN Security Council meeting on #Ukraine today 27 February, India abstained on the vote on the resolution to refer the matter to an emergency session of @UN General Assembly.
— PR/Amb T S Tirumurti (@ambtstirumurti) February 27, 2022
Our Explanation of Vote ⤵️ #IndiainUNSC pic.twitter.com/YRsjUOutw4
Mission Ganga: The Evacuation Program to bring back Indian students from Ukraine
Since Russia’s declaration of military action against Ukraine on February 24, the Indians stuck in the war-hit zone are being evacuated by the government of India under the Mission Ganga program. The number of Indians stranded in Ukraine is reported to be anywhere between 16,000 to 20,000, with most media houses reporting them at 18,000. However, as of now, the official government figure is 16,000. So far, 907 Indians have been evacuated. Notably, the Indian government had issued multiple advisories urging Indians to leave Ukraine before the war was declared.
