Expedite evacuation

Thousands of Indian nationals, mostly students, find themselves trapped in war-torn Ukraine. In view of the closure of the Kyiv airport and the Ukrainian airspace, the Indian government has started evacuating them through land routes. A batch of students was ferried from Ukraine to Romania on Friday. It is going to be an uphill task as the movement of vehicles has become highly restricted after the imposition of martial law. According to reports, about 400 Indian students in Ukraine’s Sumy city, bordering Russia, have taken shelter in a basement after the mayor surrendered to the Russian forces. They are in a precarious position, waiting desperately for a lifeline amid fast-dwindling supplies. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told the media on Thursday that there were around 20,000 Indians in the east European country, of which about 4,000 had returned to India in the past few days.

Even as the Centre is establishing control rooms at Ukraine’s borders and some state governments have set up helplines, it seems that the opportunity to evacuate the majority of the Indians before the war broke out has been frittered away. On February 20, four days before Russian President Putin declared war on Ukraine, the Indian embassy had appealed to the students and others to leave the country temporarily. However, many of them stayed put as they were not able to pay the prohibitive prices of air tickets, while some others failed to make arrangements for transit visas. A proactive approach by the authorities could have resolved these issues quickly when flights were still available.

The evacuation of Indians from Afghanistan in August last year had been messy. Eyebrows were raised over the hasty closure of the embassy and the preference given to officials over others during the airlifting exercise. It’s hoped that the Indian government has learnt lessons from that chaotic experience and will do a better job in Ukraine. Indian diplomats need to keep all lines of communication open with the Russian and Ukrainian governments to facilitate safe passage for the stranded people and their eventual return to their home country.