Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri is en route to Budapest in Hungary to aid the evacuation of Indian citizens stranded in war-hit Ukraine. “All set to bring back our young students back home safely… enroute to Budapest with a refuelling stop in Istanbul with the ever efficient 6E boys and girls,” tweeted Puri.
Hardeep Singh Puri is one of the four Union Ministers deputed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to coordinate repatriation operations on ground in the neighbouring countries of Ukraine where the evacuation flights are taking off from. Puri has been assigned to oversee operations in Hungary.
PM Modi held a high-level meeting over the crisis between Russia and Ukraine on Monday where it was decided that Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia will be overseeing evacuation operations of stranded Indians in Romania and Moldova, Minister of Law Kiren Rijiju will be visiting Slovakia, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri will be overlooking operations in Hungary, and Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport Gen (Retd) VK Singh will be coordinating the repatriation operations in Poland as part of the Indian government’s ‘Operation Ganga.’
On Tuesday, two flights, one from Bucharest and the other from Budapest, landed in India carrying a total of 398 evacuees from Ukraine.
The Indian embassy in Ukraine on Tuesday advised citizens to “leave Kyiv urgently” as Russian forces continue their advance on the city.
