Air India flights to evacuate Indians in Ukraine via Bucharest
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New Delhi: Two Air India flights will be commissioned to bring back stranded Indians in Ukraine via Bucharest airport, as no flights are permitted to fly into our out of Ukraine yet. The flights will depart India at 2 AM on Saturday morning.
Bucharest, the capital of Hungary, is around a 12 hour drive from the Ukranian capital of Kyiv, which has already come under attack by Russian forces as the invasion of Ukraine continues.
Several Indian nationals have taken refuge in the Indian embassy in Kyiv. There were reports of shelling around the embassy premises, but no damage has been done, the Hindustan Times reported. The Indian embassy in Kyiv has been issuing advisories to the citizens, mostly comprising students to stay calm wherever they were, assuring them of working on an evacuation arrangement via alternative route.
Indian citizens have also been advised to take shelter in nearby bombproof shelters or bunkers.
MoS External Affairs V Muraleedharan had assured families of stranded Indians that efforts were on a war-footing to bring their near and dear ones from the conflict-hit eastern European nation. The Ministry of External Affair (MEA) has already announced a 24x7 control room in Delhi to monitor the evacuation process and answer queries.
India is identifying land routes for evacuations from Ukraine where over 100 people were killed on Day-1 of attack by Russia. Over 20,000 citizens are still trapped in the country, where over 100 Ukranian have been killed in the first day of the conflict alone.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to cease violence and accept diplomatic solutions. The PM also spoke about the Indian citizens still in Ukraine and the issue of their safety amidst the raging conflict.
Indian nationals in Ukraine near the border points can contact government teams from Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic, and Romania, Arindam Bagchi, the spokersperson for the ministry of external affairs, tweeted with the contact details.