THE MINSTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRIMATI SUSHMA SWARAJ)
(a) to (d) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 506 REGARDING “INDIANS STRANDED IN UKRAINE” FOR ANSWER ON 13.08.2014
The Government has been closely monitoring and assessing the evolving situation in Ukraine, particularly since the escalation of the crisis from February, 2014. India has consistently been calling for an end to the violence and for a constructive dialogue to find political and diplomatic solutions that protect the legitimate interests of all sections of Ukraine’s society and all the countries in the region. The main concern of the Government of India was the safety and security of about 6,000 Indian nationals in Ukraine, including about 4,700 Indian students. The Government of India facilitated the successful evacuation of our students from troubled areas in Ukraine. The majority of these students have safely returned to India.
Indian citizens, including students, are not stranded in Ukraine due to lack of enough flights to return to India. Since the beginning of the unrest in Ukraine, the Government took a pro-active approach to ensure the safety of Indian nationals. The Indian Mission in Kyiv has constantly remained in touch with the relevant Ukrainian Government authorities as well as with University authorities where Indian students are enrolled. Our Mission has also been continuously issuing advisories to Indian nationals, including Indian students in Ukraine; 21 advisories have been issued till August 4, 2014. Advisories are uploaded on our Mission’s website and also circulated electronically to those Indian nationals who have registered themselves with the Mission.
On June 3-4, around 1000 Indian nationals, mostly medical students from Lugansk and a few from Donetsk, were evacuated by train to Kyiv, following the escalation of violence in these regions. On their arrival in Kyiv, they were provided with boarding and lodging. All expenditure on their travel by train, boarding and lodging was met by the Government. In Kyiv, the Mission rendered all assistance to Indian nationals, in making their travel arrangements from Kyiv to India. At India’s request, the Ukrainian government extended all assistance in the evacuation of the Indian nationals from the Lugansk and Donetsk regions. As a goodwill gesture, the Government also evacuated to Kyiv, nationals from Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
In spite of repeated advisories and the well-publicised evacuation of June 3-4, a few Indian nationals, including students, chose to stay back for reasons best known to them. As of date, no incident of any casualty or harm to any Indian national in Ukraine has come to the notice of the Government.
Download PDF Files
