New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an election rally in Sonbhadra Wednesday said India’s “rising power” had helped the country evacuate citizens from war-torn Ukraine.
India would not spare any effort to bring home citizens from Ukraine, Modi told the gathering in this Uttar Pradesh town, according to news agency PTI.
The government’s worst nightmare came true on Tuesday when a fourth-year medical student was killed in shelling in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Modi immediately met top officials in the evening – his fourth Ukraine meeting in four days – to take stock of Operation Ganga, India’s rescue mission.
Earlier in the day, the Indian Air Force was asked to pitch in, and a C-17 aircraft left India at 4 am today.
The government has said 26 more flights will operate in the next few days to bring back Indians from Ukraine’s bordering nations.
Modi also took a jibe at the opposition by saying, “Those who questioned the valour of our armed forces and the ‘Make in India’ initiative, can’t make the country strong.”
Meanwhile, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, one of the four Union ministers sent to Ukraine’s neighbouring countries to coordinate the evacuation, has reached the Slovakian city of Kosice, his office said.
The other three ministers headed for different border countries were Hardeep Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia and VK Singh.
Also read: Will safely evacuate Indians from Ukraine to Russia, says envoy