6,000 Indians Brought Back To Country From Ukraine So Far: Union minister

Pune, Mar 2 (PTI) Of the 20,000 Indians who were stranded in war-torn Ukraine, 6,000 have been brought back to the country so far and the Centre is making all efforts for the safe return of the remaining ones, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said on Wednesday.

He was speaking to reporters here on the sidelines of an event.

'There were around 20,000 students/citizens who were stranded in Ukraine. Of them, 4,000 were brought back to India before February 24. Additional 2,000 students were brought back to India till Tuesday and efforts are on to evacuate the remaining Indians stuck there,' he said.

Since the number of stranded persons is big, defence aircraft are being used to bring them back to India, Muraleedharan said.

With the help of Ukraine's neighbouring countries Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, the students are being evacuated to India, he said.

The Union government has initiated 'Operation Ganga' to bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine.

When asked about Shiv Sena's allegation that the name Operation Ganga is being used keeping the Uttar Pradesh elections is mind, he said, 'It is not a political issue. It is national issue. It is pertaining to the safety of Indian citizens. There should not be any objection to the name.' In Pune, the minister met the parents of some children, who are stuck in Ukraine.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)