Putin assures the safety of 4 Air India flights to bring Indians

Four Air India flights — three to Bucharest, Romania, and one to Budapest, Hungary — were scheduled to operate on Friday and Saturday to evacuate Indians who had travelled to Ukraine by road.

The decision to evacuate Indians through Ukraine’s western borders comes after President Putin assured Prime Minister Modi that Russian military had been instructed to secure their safety. As the evacuees arrive in eastern European capitals, the timing will be established.

PM Modi will assess the situation during a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting on Saturday.

These flights, which are being subsidized by the government, mark the resumption of the evacuation of over 16,000 Indians trapped in war-torn Ukraine. By Friday evening, 200 Indians had been transported to Romania via the Suceava border crossing.

The arrival of Indians in Romania marked a significant step forward in the government’s attempts to securely transport Indian people following the Russian assault, which resulted in the closure of airspace and the damage of runways. The first two evacuation flights, Delhi-Bucharest and Mumbai-Bucharest, were scheduled to depart at 9 p.m. and 10.30 p.m. on Friday.

“Not only is Ukrainian airspace declared restricted for civilian flights, but also airstrips in the country have been bombed. Poland was the closest to Ukraine from the evacuation point of view but there were logistical issues,” a official said.

As a result, four buses took the first batch of evacuees from Ukraine to Romania via the Suceava border crossing on Friday, clearly marked with Indian flags to indicate that they are ferrying Indian students so that they are not mistaken for defence personnel. Indian diplomats at Suceava will facilitate onward travel to Bucharest for the journey to India.

“More than 470 students will exit Ukraine and enter Romania through the Porubne-Siret border. We are moving Indians located at the border to neighbouring countries for onward evacuation. Efforts are underway to relocate Indians coming from the hinterland”, the Indian embassy in Kyiv tweeted.

The evacuees have been instructed to bring their passports, some cash (ideally in US dollars), and, if available, certificates proving that they are completely vaccinated. On Friday, the Indian embassy in Ukraine announced that it is working to set up evacuation routes from Romania and Hungary. “At this time, teams are assembling at the following check points: Chop-Zahony Hungarian border near Uzhhorod, Porubne-Siret Romanian border near Chernivtsi,” the statement added. Once these routes are built, Indians leaving Ukraine on their own will be compelled to travel to these locations as well.

The Romanian border post is around 600 kilometres from Kyiv and takes between 8.5 and 11 hours to drive. Bucharest is 500 kilometres away, about 7-9 hours. The distance between Kyiv and the Hungarian border is around 800 kilometres, or 12-13 hours by vehicle. According to those familiar with the situation, the ministry of external affairs has established camp offices in the western Ukrainian towns of Lviv and Chernivtsi to facilitate the transit of Indians to Hungary, Romania, and Poland.

Indian Citizens in Romania, Hungary, and Poland would be taken and flown out, according to the Indian embassy in Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital. While Slovakia is not currently a designated destination, Indians who travel there will receive consular support, according to the statement.