Union Government to rope in Air Force for Ukraine evacuation efforts

New Delhi: Strengthening its efforts to evacuate around 12,000 Indian citizens—largely medical students—who are stuck in war-hit Ukraine, the Union government has decided to rope in the Indian Air Force (IAF) along with commercial flights for its "Operation Ganga" initiative. Sources said the Air Force has been asked to send their transport aircraft as part of the evacuation efforts. While there is no official word from either the government or the Air Force yet, it is expected to deploy its large C-17 Globemaster aircraft for the operation.

The aircraft were also used for evacuation efforts from Afghanistan last year, after Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021. Air Force officials said that it was ready for any task that will be given to it.

The Indian Embassy in Ukraine issued an advisory on Tuesday asking all Indian nationals, including students, "to leave Kyiv urgently. Preferably by available trains or through any other means available."

Several videos emerged on social media in which Indian students stuck in Kyiv and Kharkiv, both witnessing intense fighting, and at the border with Poland and Romania, were seen asking for help. Many of them said they did not have enough food and water and were not being allowed to cross the border. They had to spend nights in the open in freezing temperatures, they also said.

India is sending four Union Ministers to Ukraine's neighbouring nations to supervise the evacuation efforts. Of the nearly 20,000 Indian nationals who were present in Ukraine, 8,000 managed to leave the country since its first advisory earlier this month.