According to a senior IAF officer, “The IAF is geared up for any requirements of evacuation of our citizens from Ukraine.”
On Tuesday (March 1, 2022), efforts to evacuate stranded Indian students were ramped up by the government. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has been asked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the evacuation efforts.
IAF geared up
According to a senior IAF officer, “The IAF is geared up for any requirements of evacuation of our citizens from Ukraine.” These transport aircraft will be deployed to carry humanitarian aid and medicines and on return will bring back Indians who are stuck at four different borders of Ukraine.
C-17 Globemaster III to be sent
IAF is likely to deploy C-17 transport aircraft from its fleet for Operation Ganga. Last year, when Afghanistan fell to Taliban 2.0, IAF had deployed the C-17 to help in evacuating Indians who were stranded there.
These aircraft are an important part of IAF’s fleet and perform combat and strategic airlift capability. These aircraft have been used in various operations from the time they joined the IAF’s Sky Lords squadron in September 2013. The aircraft was selected in 2009 for IAF’s requirement of ‘Very Heavy Lift Transport Aircraft’. And the contract was inked in 2011 for 10 C-17 Globemaster III for USD 4.1 billion. Today there are 11 C-17 Globemaster III in the fleet and this has made India’s the biggest operator of these aircraft outside the US.
One Indian student dies in Russia-Ukraine cross fire
On Tuesday, one Indian student was killed in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, in the shelling as war between Ukraine and Russia reached the streets of the cities. The 21 year-old Naveen Shekharappa, who was a final year medical student from Karnataka’s Haveri, was killed when Russian soldiers blew up a government building in Kharkiv city.
Conveying condolences to the family, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi announced on social media “With profound sorrow we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning. The Ministry is in touch with his family.”
Later in the evening the ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine in New Delhi were called to the MEA Headquarters by foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla. In his meeting the foreign secretary reiterated India’s demand for urgent safe passage for the Indians who are in conflict zones and in places like Kharkiv.
According to Mr Bagchi, similar action is being undertaken by our envoys in Moscow and Kyiv.
Since February 24, the demand for a safe passage for the Indians has been repeatedly made of Ukraine and Russia through their envoys here and Indian envoys have conveyed the same in these two countries.
According to the source, those areas where the conflict has not endangered movement, several thousands of Indians have been evacuated. Almost 9000 Indian nationals have been evacuated from Ukraine and a large number have been moved to safer areas.
How many Indian students are still in Ukraine?
According to various numbers in the public domain, almost 16,000 Indians continue to be stuck in Ukraine. These students have been sharing images, videos from underground bunkers, bomb shelters and metro stations. Almost 9000 Indians have left by various special flights.
Those who are stuck are in the eastern parts of Ukraine. This part is the most affected by the Russian offensive and the students are unable to travel by road to reach the Western borders. Images of the Indians being stopped from boarding trains by the Ukrainian police have shown up on social media.
Update on Tuesday (March 1, 2022)
Russian shelled the largest city Kharkiv in Ukraine, which damaged major installations there. They also surrounded the capital city of that country. India issued another advisory to all the Indians to leave the city immediately on whatever transport was available to safe places.
As the war entered the fifth day, both Ukraine and Russia continued to engage in fighting on Kharkiv streets. And the satellite images showed a long convoy of Russian military vehicles on roadways northwest of Kyiv.
