#Operation Ganga : MEA Insists Top Priority To Evacuate Indians From Southern Ukrainian City Sumy

Picture : Twitter / ANI

India  has clearly said its main focus now is on the evacuation of around 700 Indian students stranded in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy which has been witnessing bombings and airstrikes. At a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India hopes to evacuate its citizens from Kharkiv and Pisochyn in the next few hours.

“Our main focus is now on evacuating Indian students from Sumy. We are exploring multiple options for their evacuation,” he said. Bagchi also reiterated India’s call to Russia and Ukraine to go for a local ceasefire so that the Indians can be taken out of the conflict zones.

“Our challenge in the evacuation of the Indians from Sumy is ongoing shelling and violence and lack of transportation,” Bagchi said. On the overall evacuation mission, he said over 13,300 people have been brought back home in 63 flights.

The spokesperson said 13 flights are scheduled for the next 24 hours to bring back Indians under ‘Operation Ganga’, the evacuation mission launched following a Russian military offensive in Ukraine.

As per PTI report, As evacuation from the shelling-battered city remains a challenge for Indian authorities, the students said they could no longer cope with the nail-biting cold, depleting food supplies and having to melt snow to get drinking water.

Around 700 Indian students are still stuck in the war-hit region, their evacuation hampered by the continuous fighting in the area.