The Ministry of External Affairs remains unsure of the number of Indians who remain stranded in war-torn Ukraine while it confirmed Thursday that 18,000 have exited the east European nation.
In a news briefing, the MEA spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi said that it was difficult to give an exact number. "But so far, 6,400 Indian citizens have been brought back," said the spokesperson.
According to the ministry, 30 flights under Operation Ganga, the government's Ukraine evacuation programme, have returned, including "15 in the last 24 hours, bringing back more than 3,000 Indians".
"In the next 24 hours, 18 flights have been scheduled, including three C-17s of the Indian Air Force. The other serivces are commercial flights, including Air India, Indigo, Spice Jet and Go Air."
'1,000 Indians left Kharkiv'
The Ministry said that the government was "closely following the developments in Kharkiv, Sumy and other eastern cities".
"The Embassy in Ukraine issued advisories yesterday for students in Ukraine. Pursuant to this, a large number of students left to Pisochin and it is estimated that the number is about 1,000.
"We understand that some were able to leave on trains. But there has been a fresh outbreak of violence, making our job all the more difficult," said the spokesperson.