Amid Ukraine Crisis, India Removes Restrictions on Flights To & From the Country
Any number of flights and charter flights can now operate between the two countries.
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Amid its crisis with Russia, India's Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has removed the restriction on number of flights between India and Ukraine in the air bubble arrangement.
Any number of flights and charter flights can now operate between the two countries and Indian airlines have been informed to mount flights due to the increase in demand, a statement from the ministry said.
MoCA is facilitating this in coordination with India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The MEA has set up a control room to assist Indians in Ukraine. Arindam Bagchi, official spokesperson of the MEA, also tweeted a list of phone numbers that Indians could call if they faced any problems.
India Asks Nationals To Leave Ukraine Temporarily
On Tuesday, in an advisory for Indian nationals in Ukraine, the Embassy of India had asked Indians, "particularly students whose stay is not essential," to temporarily leave Ukraine in light of a potential Russian invasion of the country.
On Wednesday, the embassy said in a tweet, "Embassy of India has been receiving several appeals about non-availability of flights from Ukraine to India. In this regard, students are advised not to resort to panic, but book the earliest available and convenient flights to travel to India."
"At present, Ukrainian International Airlines, Air Arabia, Fly Dubai, Qatar Airways etc are operating flights," it said.
The embassy further said that "more flights are being planned in the near future," including those of Air India and Ukrainian International Airlines.
'Invasion Still Remains a Possibility'
While Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he had called for some of the troops surrounding Ukraine to withdraw, the United States (US) and NATO have taken his comments with a pinch of salt.
US President Joe Biden said that Russia still remains in a "threatening position" and that an invasion was still a possibility. He also added that currently Russia has more than 150,000 troops encircling Ukraine in Belarus and along Ukraine’s border.
While the West has asked for ending the conflict through diplomatic channels, Russia has asked NATO for guarantees that it would not further expand eastward or include Ukraine into its fold.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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