Indian ministers to leave for countries bordering Ukraine tonight

Concerned at the Indians stuck in war hit Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally called up Union Ministers Hardeep Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and Gen V. K. Singh on Sunday evening to sound them out for on the ground help to speed up the evacuation mission.

It is learnt that Petroleum Minister and former diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri will coordinate evacuation efforts from Hungary, Civil Aviation Minister Scindia will speed up Indian evacuation from Romania and Moldova, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju will expedite the trans-border movement from Slovenia and Roads and Transport Minister and former Indian Army chief Gen V K Singh will push Operation Ganga from the Poland border. All the concerned ministers met Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar this morning with instructions to reach designated countries as soon as possible.

While the PM is expected to take the third meeting on Indian evacuation this evening, there is a strong possibility that all the concerned ministers and designated officials would have left by that time or will take the first available flight to countries bordering Ukraine.

According to available information, there is a massive congestion on Ukraine borders with more than 3000 Indian awaiting to cross the border to Poland via Kyviv-Lupsk axis or Kyviv-Kovel axis. With the Russian unrelenting in pushing the offensive against Ukraine from all sides, the situation at the border is tense as no able bodied Ukrainian is allowed to cross the border to boost the resistance effort. It is due to these reasons that the border guards are muscling around as the war is approaching the interiors of Ukraine and there is no special treatment for any foreigners including Indians.

All the concerned ministers will have to negotiate their movements with the help of local Indian mission to ensure that nothing untoward happens to Indians waiting evacuation.