What went behind bringing Indians back from Ukraine

New Delhi: The last batch of Indians stuck in Ukraine, where hostilities have surged following Russia's military operation, has been taken out from the main war zone as part of Operation Ganga, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.

The 'bold steps' taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including his discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other global leaders, have helped achieve this mission, Goyal pointed out. Addressing a press conference along with Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, Goyal said, "Today, we are proud that the last batch (of Indians) has also been taken out from the main war zone and will soon reach in India."

"It's a proud moment for India that 20k people have been evacuated by Modi ji in three weeks."

"This is because of the image of Modi has created impact globally," he added. Goyal said that back-to-back meetings were conducted, and Modi took some bold decisions to ensure the safe return of all Indians. "PM Modi took bold steps for Operation Ganga. All the government resources were used by PM Modi. Back-to-back meetings were conducted on this (situation). Every individual was taken care of. Modi ji spoke to global leaders 11 times to bring the Indians back.

The NGOs, airlines, industry people, different ministries, etc. have given their participation," he said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, too, has been working non-stop to ensure all Indians are brought back through safe passages, Goyal said, adding, "Dr S Jaishankar has been working 24 hours. I guess he hasn't slept for the last few days." India, he said, adopted "all possible diplomatic channels" to evacuate Indian citizens from Ukraine. "PM Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky."