All Indian students evacuated from Ukraine�s Sumy, says MEA

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Mar 08, 2022: All Indian students who were stranded for days in Sumy Oblast in war-stricken Ukraine have been evacuated and are being taken to neighbouring Poltava, the Union Ministry of Affairs said on Tuesday, March 8. Sumy has been witnessing intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops for days now. India has been making efforts to evacuate its citizens from the northeastern Ukrainian city, but with little success due to the heavy shelling and air strikes.

 

Happy to inform that we have been able to move out all Indian students from Sumy. They are currently en route to Poltava, from where they will board trains to western Ukraine. Flights under #OperationGanga are being prepared to bring them home,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. He also tweeted visuals of the students being transported to Poltava. Poltava is around three hours away from Sumy.

Indian students told PTI that they are relieved to be able to finally leave Sumy after living in difficult conditions amid continuous bombings and firing. On Monday, they had reached the buses arranged for their evacuation, but the evacuation had to be cancelled at the last minute as ceasefire violations were announced. "We stood in a queue for three hours in freezing cold on Monday, waiting to board the buses and then, we were told that we cannot go. Thankfully, we left Sumi on Tuesday. I am hoping that we will be in a safe zone soon," Aashiq Hussain Sarkar, another medical student, told PTI.

Then, on Tuesday, a humanitarian corridor was opened for the safe evacuation of students. The Indian Embassy issued an advisory to students, asking them to make use of the corridor and leave immediately, using any mode of transport available.

"The evacuation from Sumy has started. There was finally some good news on Tuesday. All Indian students will be evacuated from Sumy on Tuesday itself. They will be taken to a safe location from where they will be brought to India," said Anshad Ali, a student coordinator. A medical student at the Sumy university, who did not wish to be identified, had said that buses have arrived and students have started boarding the buses. "We have been told that we will go to Poltava. I am praying that we reach a safe zone and this misery is over," he told PTI from Sumy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday on ways to start the stalled evacuation process of the Indian students from Sumy, which is being pummelled by the Russian forces.

Courtesy:The News Minute