The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, 24 February, that it is sending MEA teams to Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic, and Romania, countries which share a land border with Ukraine, to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine.
Later on Thursday evening, Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla said that a number of steps have been taken to deal with the emerging situation in Ukraine.
"We started the registration of Indian nationals in Ukraine about a month ago. Based on online registration, we found that 20,000 Indian nationals were there," he said.
He said that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is expected to speak to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister on Thursday. He also said that Jaishankar would speak to the foreign ministers of Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary as well.
Shringla informed that 4,000 Indian nationals had already left Ukraine in the past few days. The MEA control room in Delhi had got 980 calls and 850 emails, he informed, adding that the situation on the ground was difficult and rapidly evolving.
"We are in touch with the Ministry of Defence to keep provision for airlift (of Indians) capacity in regard to the situation in Ukraine," he added.
Shringla further said that one important step that the government had taken was to pursue all universities in Ukraine to conduct online classes. "PM Modi has specifically stated that the MEA should do everything possible for our citizens in Ukraine," he said.
"Our Embassy in Ukraine continues to be functional. A number of advisories have been issued by embassies on the situation as it evolves. We're consulting universities, student contractors in the process of providing welfare and safety of our students," he added.
He said the ministry would handle the evacuation process with utmost precision. "Roadways have been mapped out to evacuate Indian nationals from Kyiv and reach safer places."
Talking about the sanctions imposed by several countries on Russia, he said,"Some sanctions have been imposed on Russia by the UK, US, Australia, Japan among others. We have to see what impacts these sanctions will have on our interests. Any sanctions will have an impact on our relationship, I think it would be correct to acknowledge that."
Background
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine on Thursday with explosions, missile attacks, and air strikes being reported from across Ukraine.
About 20,000 Indian nationals, including students, are stuck in several parts of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Centre said on Thursday that Indians can return via Qatar since Ukraine has shut its airspace for all civilian flights.
The Embassy of India in Ukraine on Thursday issued advisories to Indian nationals and students stranded in Ukraine, asking them to identify bomb shelter locations in Kyiv via Google Maps.
In its third advisory of the day, the embassy also urged all to carry their identification documents at all times.
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