Russia War in Ukraine: India rescued nine Bangladeshis from Ukraine, as well as evacuated Nepalese and Tunisian students through special flights it carried out as part of “Operation Ganga”.
NEW DELHI: Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for rescuing her country’s citizens in ‘Operation Ganga’, as well as trapped Indian citizens evacuated from war-affected Ukraine. So far, India has rescued nine Bangladeshis from Ukraine, as well as several Nepalese and Tunisian students, through special flights it carried out as part of its “Operation Ganga” evacuation mission. A Pakistani citizen was also rescued by Indian authorities and is now on his way to western Ukraine for further evacuation out of the country.
India has been trying to evacuate its citizens, mostly students, from Ukraine since late-February, but is struggling to do so in the east of the country, particularly in the northeast city of Sumy, where near of 700 Indian students were got stuck and couldn’t leave despite repeated efforts.
However, after several rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine, a failed evacuation attempt from Sumy on Monday and an appeal by Prime Minister Modi to Russian and Ukrainian leaders, Russia finally declared a ceasefire on Tuesday to conduct a “humanitarian operation” from 12:30 p.m. India time. The Russian Embassy in India has released a list of “humanitarian corridors” it is ready to provide, and the 694 Indians stranded in Sumy have been able to leave Ukraine, the center said.
Since February 22, some 18,000 Indians have been brought back from Ukraine on special flights. The war in Ukraine began on February 24, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its former Soviet neighbor, following which several Ukrainian cities came under almost constant attack.
