Poland: As many as 694 Indian students, who were stranded in Sumy in north-east Ukraine for the last many days, finally reached the border of Poland. Among them, 200-odd students are Keralites. They will be flown to New Delhi on four flights on either Thursday or Friday.
On Tuesday, they first came to Poltava and from there to Lviv city on a special train. From Lviv to the Poland border, they went by another train. The train was flagged off by the Indian Ambassador in Ukraine, Partha Sathpathi.
As many as 17 students from Pakistan, Nepal. Tunisia and Bangladesh were also part of the team.
Usually, it takes only one-and-a-half hours from Lviv to Poland. The evacuees are now held up at the Poland border as there is a heavy crowd for passport verification.
After completing the procedures, the team will be taken to the Shemis railway station in Poland. Then, they will be lodged in a camp that has been opened in Shesov. Depending upon the situation, they will be flown to New Delhi on four flights on Thursday or Friday.
End to first phase of 'Operation Ganga'
The first stage of the "Operation Ganga" will be over once the students from Sumy return to India.
As per the estimate of the Indian External Affairs Ministry, no Indian who wants to come back to their homeland is remaining in Ukraine.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said that around 20,000 people have been brought back under "Operation Ganga", the evacuation mission launched by the Government of India to bring back its citizens stranded in Ukraine following the Russian invasion.
