Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi today for rescuing her country's nationals as part of 'Operation Ganga,' which also included stranded Indian nationals being evacuated from war-torn Ukraine.
So far, India's special flights have evacuated nine Bangladeshis from Ukraine, as well as many Nepalese and Tunisian students, as part of its 'Operation Ganga' evacuation effort. Indian officials also rescued a Pakistani national, who is now en route to western Ukraine for further evacuation out of the country.
Since late February, India has been attempting to evacuate its citizens, mostly students, from Ukraine, but has run into difficulties in the east, particularly in the north eastern city of Sumy, where nearly 700 Indian students have been stranded and have been unable to leave despite repeated attempts.
Following numerous rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks and two failed civilian evacuation attempts, Russia called a new cease-fire on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. India time to launch a "humanitarian operation." According to the centre, the Russian embassy in India issued a list of "humanitarian corridors" that it is willing to supply, and all 694 Indians stranded in Sumy were able to escape Ukraine.