All Indian nationals have left Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday. At a media briefing, Shringla said he has conveyed to envoys of Russia and Ukraine India's demand for "urgent safe passage" for all Indian nationals stuck in Kharkiv and other conflict zones.
A number of Indians are still stranded in Kharkiv where Russia has launched a major military offensive. The MEA said the Foreign Secretary is calling in ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine to reiterate India's demand for "urgent safe passage" to Indian nationals who are still in Kharkiv and other cities in conflict zones.
He said at a high-level meeting on the Ukraine crisis, PM Narendra Modi expressed deep anguish over the loss of life of an Indian citizen in Kharkiv.
"We remain very concerned over the situation in Kharkiv, Sumy and other conflict zones," Shringla said.
"Over the next three days, 26 flights have been scheduled to bring back Indian citizens," he said. Shringla said a C-17 IAF aircraft is expected to fly out at 4 AM on Wednesday to Romania to repatriate our citizens. India has been operating flights to bring back Indians from Romania and Hungary after they crossed over to these countries.
The seventh flight carrying 182 Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine reached Mumbai from Romania's Bucharest on Tuesday morning.
Shringla also said that Prime Minister Modi received a call from President of France Emmanuel Macron. Modi also spoke to the President of Poland.
Apart from Bucharest and Budapest, airports in Poland and the Slovak Republic will also be used to operate evacuation flights, he said.
Modi had spoken to Naveen's father and offered his heartfelt condolences to the family following the tragedy. Naveen was killed in shelling in Kharkiv city of war-hit Ukraine on Tuesday morning, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Naveen died when he stepped out of a bunker to fetch food, his relative said, while another concerned parent wanted Modi to ensure a ceasefire in the eastern European nation till their wards return home safe and sound.
Allegations also cropped up against the local BJP MP that he did not respond to the SOS calls from the stranded students, a charge denied by the elected representative.
With several MPs receiving anxious calls from families of Indian nationals stuck in war-hit Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asked parliamentarians to directly contact his office to flag "particular concerns" and share information about such people.
"Please be assured that we are taking cognizance of all enquiries and information. All of them will be attended to by Team MEA representatives on the ground," the Union minister said in a letter sent out to all MPs on Monday. He also shared an e-mail ID and WhatsApp numbers on which the MPs can share details.
"You are naturally getting many anxious enquiries from the families of students and other Indian nationals who are still in Ukraine, Ministry of External Affairs has set up a helpline for the public...," he said in his letter detailing its numbers and e-mail IDs.
In addition, depending on which border the person concerned is moving towards, separate helplines have been set up in Indian embassies in Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, he said.
