India has asked its citizens stranded in Ukraine to reach out to the embassy for evacuation and also has issued helpline numbers. The announcement was made after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine.
In an advisory to all the Indian nationals in Ukraine, the embassy said: "This is to inform all Indian nationals in Ukraine that since the Ukrainian airspace has been closed the schedule for special flights stands cancelled."
The embassy further stated that alternative arrangements were being made for evacuation of the Indian nationals.
The embassy will convey information as soon as such arrangements are finalised, so that the Indian nationals can relocate to the western part of the country, said an official.
"Please carry your passports and necessary documents on your person at all times. You are advised to follow Embassy website and social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) posts for updates on this regard."
The Embassy has issued helpline numbers:
+38 0997300483
+38 0997300428
+38 0933980327
+38 0635917881
+38 0935046170
On evacuation of Indians in Ukraine
India had started planes to evacuate citizens living in Ukraine since the war-like situation emerged. A special flight landed in Delhi earlier carrying 182 Indians. But, an Air India flight scheduled to evacuate on Thursday was forced to return to Delhi this morning after the eastern European country closed its airspace.
Over 20,000 Indian citizens are in Ukraine as the crisis with Russia escalated rapidly over the past week. Now, the Indian government's immediate priority is to evacuate these people but the closure of Ukrainian airspace makes this a challenging proposition.
India had told the Security Council: "The situation is in danger of spiralling into a major crisis. If not handled carefully, it may undermine security."
India is focusing on security of Indians particularly students in Ukraine and is closely monitoring the rapidly changing situation. The control room set up in the MEA is being expanded and made operational on 24x7 basis, sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said here on Thursday.
"The Ministry is holding a high level meeting here to review the situation that continues to escalate near the Ukrainian border after Russia launched its military operations in the Donbas region. The senior officials of the Ministry are in constant touch with the Indian embassy in Ukraine," sources further said.
An Air India plane which was sent to bring back students from Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, had to return because of ongoing missile attacks between Russia and Ukraine.
The sources in the Ministry also said that the government is reviewing other options to evacuate Indians and students via the neighbouring countries like Poland, Hungary, Moldova and Romania but before taking any final decision, the government is evaluating all possible actions.
The Indian embassy in Ukraine on Thursday asked Indians residing there to maintain calm and to remain safe wherever they are and also issued a fresh advisory. Indian Ambassador to Ukraine Partha Satpathy, in an advisory to all Indian Nationals in Ukraine, requested everyone to stay calm and face the situation with fortitude.
"The present situation in Ukraine is highly uncertain. Please maintain calm and remain safe wherever you are, be it in your homes, hostels, accommodations or in transit," the Indian embassy said.
"All those who are travelling to Kiev including those travelling from western parts of Kiev, are advised to return to their respective cities, temporarily, especially towards safer places along the western bordering countries," the advisory further said, adding that the further advisories would be issued for any updates.
(Includes agency inputs)
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