Amid the ongoing evacuation of Indians from Ukraine, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur on Monday said that so far 418 students have returned to Himachal Pradesh whereas 58 are still stranded in Ukraine.
"418 students have returned from Ukraine to Himachal Pradesh till now and 58 students are yet to come. Some of these students are in Ukraine and some are in nearby countries. All students are safe & are expected to be back soon," Jairam Thakur was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Monday, more than 17,400 Indians have been brought back under 'Operation Ganga' since special flights began on February 22 this year. The number of Indians airlifted by 73 special civilian flights have gone up to 15,206.
IAF had earlier flown 10 sorties to bring back 2056 passengers, as part of 'Operation Ganga'.
In the last few days, India has been focusing primarily on ways to get the Indian students out of Sumy, a city that is around 60 km from the Russian border.
The prospect of Indian students' evacuation brightened on Monday when Russia said it would start a ceasefire and open "humanitarian corridors" in key Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Sumy.
Russian news agency Interfax, quoting Russian authorities, reported that Russia has informed the United Nations, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) of opening humanitarian corridors in Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Sumy.
(With inputs from Agencies)
