Ukraine crisis: Air India flight brings back 242 Indians as Russia tensions escalate

India has requested its citizens including students who are living in Ukraine to return if their stay in the east European nation “is not deemed essential”.

Amid escalating tension along the border of the eastern European nation and Russia, an Air India special flight, AI1946 from Ukraine carrying nearly 240 passengers landed in Delhi around 11.30 pm on Tuesday.

The flight AI 1946 took off from Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv at around 6 pm, PTI quoted officials as saying. There are about 20,000 Indian students studying in various parts of Ukraine.

“A total of 242 passengers safely boarded the flight from Kyiv (Boryspil) and will land at Delhi airport’s Terminal 3 around 10.15 pm. The flight from Kyiv took off around 5.40 pm,” an Air India official said. The aircraft left as a ferry flight (without passengers) from IGIA at 7.30 am on Tuesday.

“Feeling relieved,” an Indian student pursuing a medical course in Ukraine told ANI after landing at the airport. “I was staying far from the border area so the situation was normal there, returned after the advisory issued by Indian Embassy,” said Krish Raj, an Indian student pursuing MBBS in Ukraine, news agency ANI quoted.

Thousands of Indians are waiting to fly back home from Ukraine amid rising tensions with Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin has recognised two separatist areas in Ukraine as independent nations.

In an advisory issued on February 20, the Indian embassy in Kyiv had asked all Indian nationals “whose stay is not deemed essential and all Indian students” to leave Ukraine temporarily, in view of “the continued high levels of tensions and uncertainties with respect to the situation in Ukraine”.

In another advisory issued on Tuesday, the embassy again asked Indian students to leave Ukraine temporarily, rather than wait for an official confirmation from universities about online classes.

The Indian embassy in Ukraine said Indian citizens should look for any available commercial or charter flight to get out of the country amid tensions over a possible invasion by Russia.