India will send humanitarian assistance to Ukraine: Ministry of External Affairs

Earlier in the day, Ambassador Polikha addressed the media and urged parents and family members of Indian students to not panic

India will send humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, announced the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday. The declaration came as the sixth flight under Operation Ganga evacuated a batch of Indian students who were stuck in Ukraine as the country dealt with Russian military advances.

"Following a request from the Ambassador of Ukraine, India will send humanitarian assistance, including medicines, to Ukraine," Arindam Bagchi, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said. The issue of humanitarian assistance was raised by the Ukrainian ambassador Igor Polikha in an interaction with Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Sunday.

"I was assured by Foreign Secretary Shringla that the request for humanitarian assistance would be addressed very quickly," Mr. Polikha told The Hindu. Indian officials did not specify the timeline of the delivery of the humanitarian consignment but maintained that the Ukrainian side urgently requires several items like medicines and critical care items and has handed over a list to the Indian side.

Earlier in the day, Ambassador Polikha addressed the media and urged parents and family members of Indian students to not panic saying the reports of Ukrainian soldiers and border guards misbehaving with Indian students are not correct. "Please do not listen to these fake information and avoid sensationalising a tragedy. We are the victims of an invasion by the Russians and the situation is extremely difficult. There are long queues in border crossings (with Poland and Romania). Pregnant children and even foreign diplomats are stuck in queue," Mr. Polikha said assuring that the Ukrainian side is cooperating with the Indian officials to ensure evacuation of the stranded Indians and that there is no discrimination being displayed to the Indian nationals.

Mr. Polikha said the ministers of the Ukrainian government are receiving lots of phone calls from different parts of the world seeking urgent help in exiting the country. The envoy blamed the Russian invasion for the difficulties that the Indian students are facing. Mr. Bagchi said that around 8,000 Indian students have left Ukraine since the beginning of the first advisory but thousands more remain stranded in major educational centres like Kharkiv, Sumy and the capital Kyiv where a "live conflict" is underway.

Mr Bagchi announced that apart from the existing evacuation routes through the border crossings along Ukraine-Poland and Ukraine -Romania borders, a new route has been opened up also through the border with Moldova. He however urged Indian students and professionals in Ukraine to avoid reaching the borders in western Ukraine directly and coordinate with the Indian officials and local universities.

"There are long queues in the borders. Please stay in nearby towns where Indian teams and Ukrainian universities will help," Mr. Bagchi said assuring students that additional Indian officials have been rushed to the embassies in Bucharest, Budapest, Warsaw and near the border crossings. He assured that the evacuation plan - Operation Ganga - is entirely funded by the Indian government and the evacuees are not required to pay any money. "Flights are not a constraint and we will arrange more flights as required," said the official. India has flown six evacuation flights till Monday afternoon with four from Bucharest and two from Budapest.