NEW DELHI: Four C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force with approximately 800 evacuees from Ukraine will be landing at the Hindon airbase here on Thursday, sources said.
India has been evacuating its citizens through special flights from Ukraine's western neighbours such as Romania, Hungary and Poland as the Ukrainian airspace has been shut since February 24 due to the Russian military offensive.
The IAF planes are also coming from these neighbouring countries only, sources mentioned.
Four IAF aircraft with approximately 800 Indian evacuees will land at the Hindon airbase between 1.30 AM and 8 AM on Thursday, the sources added.
Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt will receive the Indian evacuees at the airbase, they said.
Amid heavy fighting around Kharkiv, India on Wednesday asked all its citizens stranded in the city to leave immediately for three safe zones that are in the range of up to 16 km from there.
The embassy asked Indians to proceed to Pisochyn (11 km), Babai (12 km) and Bezlyudivka (16 km) even by foot if they cannot find vehicles or buses.
The Ministry of External Affairs said the embassy asked Indian nationals to leave Kharkiv immediately on the basis of information from the Russian side.
"For their safety and security, they must leave Kharkiv immediately repeat immediately in the light of the detriorating situation.
They should proceed to Pisochyn, Babai and Bezlyudivka as soon as possible for their safety," the embassy said.
The first advisory was put out on Twitter at around 1:40 pm (5 pm IST), while the second one was issued around 2:40 pm (6 pm IST).
"The students who cannot find vehicles or buses and are in railway station can proceed on foot to Pisochyn (11 km), Babai (12 km) and Bezlyudivka (16 km)," the advisory said.
The embassy further said: "Proceed immediately.
Under all circumstances, Indians must reach these settlements by 1800 hours (Ukrainian time) today," it said.
Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, a fourth-year medical student at the Kharkiv National Medical University, was killed in intense shelling in Kharkiv on Tuesday.
Six flights from the Romanian capital Bucharest will bring back on Wednesday over 1,200 Indian students who have fled the war-hit Ukraine.
India has been evacuating its citizens through special flights from Ukraine's western neighbours such as Romania, Hungary and Poland as the Ukrainian airspace has been shut down since February 24.
Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is in Bucharest, said he met Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca on Wednesday to thank his government for facilitating entry and ensuring the safety of Indian citizens amid the "grim situation" at the Ukrainian borders.
Scindia said on Twitter the Romanian prime minister has assured his continued support to Indian students crossing the Romanian borders.
"We shared a mutual interest in expanding bilateral trade given the huge economic potential and presence of Indian businesses in Romania," he noted.
The aviation minister also said: "We are mounting six flights today (Wednesday) in Bucharest, Romania, carrying over 1,200 Indian students back to India."
He thanked Air India, Air India Express and IndiGo for rising to the challenge and working round-the-clock with the government on the evacuation operations.
Scindia on Wednesday also held a meeting with heads of Indian companies that work in Romania to decentralise evacuation operations for Indians stranded in Ukraine due to the Russian military offensive.
Approximately 8,000 Indians, mainly students, are stranded in Ukraine, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday.
The aviation minister on Wednesday tweeted, "Chaired a meeting with Ambassador Rahul Shrivastava and the Indian diaspora -- heads of Indian companies in Romania to decentralise the evacuation operations and map out responsibilities, including assisting with medical emergencies, a 24*7 call centre and state-wise data collection."
The diaspora members will also accompany to the border camps and help fill any gaps in arrangements, Scindia noted.
"I thank them for their tireless efforts and commitment towards making Operation Ganga a quick success! Together, we shall overcome!" he stated.
Four Union ministers have gone to Ukraine's western neighbours to facilitate the evacuation of stranded Indians.
Hardeep Singh Puri is in Hungary, Jyotiraditya Scindia is in Romania, Kiren Rijiju is in Slovakia and V K Singh is in Poland.
IndiGo will send eight flights to Hungary, Poland and Romania on Thursday to evacuate Indians stranded in Ukraine following the Russian military offensive.
India is evacuating its citizens stranded in Ukraine from its neighbouring countries such as Romania, Hungary and Poland as the Ukrainian airspace has been shut down since February 24.
"Two flights each will be operated via Istanbul, from Delhi to Budapest (Hungary) and Rzeszow (Poland); and two flights each will operate from Mumbai to Bucharest (Romania) and Suceawa (Romania) via Istanbul on Thursday," IndiGo's statement said on Wednesday.
IndiGo said that while eight evacuation flights will depart from India on Thursday, its six repatriation flights will arrive in India on the same day.
Since February 28, IndiGo's six evacuation flights have arrived in India with over 1,300 Indians.
Home was finally just a flight away for around 100 Indian students, who managed to cross over to Poland from war-hit Ukraine on Wednesday morning after experiencing several anxious moments over the last one week.
The students, who had to brave hunger and freezing temperatures amid a sense of uncertainty, heaved a sigh of relief when they crossed over to Poland.
They now await their flight back home on Thursday.
"We finally made it after experiencing so many anxious moments in the last one week, including freezing nights at the underground railway station in Kyiv," said Ansh Pandita, a third-year student of the Taras Shevchenko National Medical University in the Ukrainian capital.
The students shared their picture as soon as they entered Poland.
From the border, they were taken into buses kept in readiness by the Indian mission.
"At Lviv, we saw a little over 20 students from the Kharkiv Medical College waiting to cross over," said Ansh, who hails from Ghaziabad and had taken over the role of the leader of the group.
The students had posted videos on social media platforms seeking help when they were stranded at the Vokzal station, Kyiv's main train hub.
Ansh and the other students who spoke to PTI over the phone from their hotel Prezydenckie in Rzeszow, located nearly 60 kilometres from the Poland-Ukraine border, said the Indian mission in Poland is organising their return, adding, "We are hopefully going to get our flight on Thursday."
"We were starved, tension was high for the last seven days, but now we are all safe and I can't even describe the happiness in words," an exhausted Ashna, the twin sister of Ansh, said.
The students, after being left to fend for themselves by the Indian mission in Kyiv, hired a bus after reaching Lviv from the capital city at night.
"Of course, we were in a dilemma whether to go to Poland or Hungary but then, all of us decided for Poland because it was nearer and we were dead exhausted," Ansh said.
After crossing the Ukraine border from Budomeriz, things went smoothly for the students.
A mission bus took them to Rzeszow, where the Indian embassy staff registered them for their onward journey to India.
The students had a traumatising time on Monday at the railway station in Kyiv, where they were not allowed to board a train and in some cases, the Ukrainian guards even beat them up.
After they were pushed away from a number of trains, the students split into smaller groups and somehow managed to get on to a train to Lviv, where the officials of many embassies are stationed.
The train was crowded and they could manage only standing space during the nine-hour journey.
Back home in Ghaziabad, Ansh and Ashna's parents Anil and Sunita breathed a sigh of relief following days of anxiety.
"Last one week -- seven days and seven nights -- were a nightmare for me and my wife as we were horrified, frightened for our twin kids who got stuck in Kyiv. We had sleepless nights, only to keep faith in god that they will return safely.
"We, as parents, were providing moral support to them, keeping them strong and supporting them so that they face the tough situation but down within, tears and anxiety were gripping us," said Anil.
"Finally, they managed to leave Kyiv at their own risk and without any support from the authorities and somehow managed to cross over to Poland today. This gave us some relief, but we are waiting for their safe return," he added.
Anil recalled that he was a displaced Kashmiri Pandit and had to build everything again from the scratch.
"The government should ponder over why do we have to pay around Rs 1 crore for providing medical education to our children in India when it is cheaper in other countries," he said, adding that they had to send their two kids far away because of the huge fee structure in India.