‘Our children are stuck’: EAM Jaishankar recalls PM Modi’s call to Putin, Zelenskyy to rescue Indian students
Operation Ganga was conducted by the Centre earlier this year when Indian students were stuck in war-torn Ukraine in the midst of the Russian invasion
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar recalled the concern of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when it came to the safety of Indian students in war-torn Ukraine. PM Modi had made calls to leaders in Russia and Ukraine to make sure that the students were brought back safely.
S Jaishankar recalled how PM Modi, while in the middle of an event in Gujarat, decided to call up Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to ensure the safety of the students who were completing their higher studies in the country during the war-like situation.
In February, Russia announced the commencement of its military operation in Ukraine, which slowly led to both the country going to war with each other, leading to multiple airstrikes and attacks on civilian areas. As many as 22,000 Indian nationals were stuck in Ukraine, with most of them being students.
Recalling the call made by PM Modi during the Modi@20 event in Gujarat, EAM Jaishankar said, “In Ukraine's Sumy and Kharkiv, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a call to Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy, told them our children are stuck... got the assurance that firing will not happen during that period and that is how we were able to get our children out.”
The Indian government conducted a massive rescue operation to bring back Indian students from Ukraine in the middle of the war with Russia. The rescue mission, called Operation Ganga, was conducted in multiple phases over the course of one month to help all the Indian students cross the Ukrainian border into neighbouring countries, from where they were airlifted to India.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has now advanced into its eighth month in October, with the situation becoming graver with each passing day. It has been reported that several Indian students are still stuck in Ukraine as they had traveled back to the country to complete their studies.