India on Saturday brought back the first batch of 219 of its citizens from Romania after facilitating their exit from Ukraine and stepped up efforts to evacuate more people with Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking up the matter with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the safe and expeditious return of the stranded Indians.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted that the second flight from Bucharest has taken off for Delhi with 250 Indian nationals as part of the evacuation mission, titled 'Operation Ganga'.
At the same time, it is learnt that Indian officials in Ukraine are facing growing complexities to evacuate the Indians to the neighbouring countries with Russian forces closing in on Ukrainian capital Kyiv and targeting several other key cities by land and air.
In a telephonic conversation with Zelenskyy, Modi conveyed India's deep concern for the safety and security of its nationals in Ukraine and sought facilitation by Ukrainian authorities to 'expeditiously and safely' evacuate the Indians, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.
Currently, nearly 16,000 Indians are stranded in Ukraine.
As gunfire, bombings and missile attacks continued to rock various parts of Ukraine, the Indian embassy in Kyiv on Saturday asked its nationals to exercise caution at all times and not move towards any border post to exit the country without prior coordination with its officials.
It particularly advised the Indians staying in the eastern parts of Ukraine to remain in their current places of residence and stay indoors or in shelters as much as possible.
'All those currently in the Eastern sector are requested to continue to remain in their current places of residence until further instructions, maintain calm and stay indoors or in shelters as much as possible, with whatever food, water and amenities available and remain patient,' the embassy said.
'Avoid unnecessary movement. We once again remind you to exercise caution at all times, be aware of your surroundings and the recent developments,' it added.
It also asked all Indians not to move to any border point without prior coordination with Indian officials.
'All Indian citizens in Ukraine are advised to not move to any of the border posts without prior coordination with the government of India officials at the border posts and the emergency numbers of the embassy of India in Kyiv,' the embassy said.
It said the situation at various border checkpoints is sensitive and the embassy is working continuously with the Indian missions in the neighbouring countries for a coordinated evacuation of the citizens.
'Embassy is finding it increasingly difficult to help the crossing of those Indian nationals who reach border checkpoint without prior intimation,' it said.
India on Friday managed to set up camp offices in Lviv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine to facilitate the transit of Indians to Hungary, Romania and Poland.
India also positioned teams of officials at Zahony border post in Hungary, Krakowiec as well as Shehyni-Medyka land border points in Poland, Vysne Nemecke in the Slovak Republic and Suceava transit point in Romania to coordinate the exit of Indian nationals from Ukraine.
India is trying to evacuate its nationals through Ukraine's land borders with Hungary, Poland, Slovakia after the Ukrainian government closed the country's airspace following the Russian military offensive.
Earlier on Saturday, the Indian embassy in Hungary said the first batch of Indian students entered the country from Ukraine through a transit point and they were taken to Budapest for return to India.
After 219 Indians boarded the Air India flight from Bucharest to Mumbai, Jaishankar tweeted that progress is being made on evacuating the Indians.
"Our teams are working on the ground round the clock. I am personally monitoring," he said.
Jaishankar also extended his 'heartfelt thanks' to Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu for his government's cooperation.
The Air India flight arrived from Bucharest in Mumbai at 7.50 pm.
"Our mission is not complete till we have taken the last person to India out of Ukraine. Wishing you a very safe journey back home," Indian Ambassador to Romania Rahul Shrivastava told the Indian students on board the first evacuation flight.
"When you talk to your friends who are waiting to be evacuated, you should tell and assure them that the entire government of India team is working day and night including all officials here to evacuate everyone," the envoy said.
In a related development, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan virtually interacted with parents of students who are stuck in Ukraine.
'Listened to them and responded to the concerns regarding safety and well-being of their children. Conveyed the government's commitment to bring back each and every student safely,' he tweeted.
