Rijiju meets Slovakia PM, conveys gratitude for evacuation of Indians from Ukraine

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who is currently in Slovakia as a part of Operation Ganga, on Friday called on the prime minister of the Slovak Republic and conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message of gratitude for the help extended in evacuating of Indian nationals from Ukraine.

"Called on Prime Minister of Slovak Republic HE @eduardheger and conveyed Prime Minister @narendramodi Ji's message, and expressed gratitude for the critical help extended in evacuating back to India the Indian nationals who have come from Ukraine," Kiren Rijiju tweeted.

On Thursday, Rijiju had interacted with Indian students there and assured them that the government is ensuring their safe return to India.

As many as 20,000 Indians have left Ukraine since the embassy issued its first travel advisory.

Addressing the special briefing on Operation Ganga, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Friday said that there are more people left in Ukraine.

"During the 24 hours, 18 flights have landed in India with around 4,000 Indians on board. The total number of flights that have landed have been 48, carrying 10348 Indians," Bagchi said.

UN humanitarians on Friday described as "unprecedented," the continuing outflow of children and families fleeing the "relentless shelling" of Russian military action in Ukraine - as they await assurances for the safe passage of relief teams to provide urgently needed assistance.

"500,000 children have been forced to flee their homes in just seven days... unprecedented in scale and speed," James Elder, spokesperson for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), said via video link from Lviv in western Ukraine.

( With inputs from ANI )

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