Russia-Ukraine War: Air India flight carrying stranded Indian nationals returned in the early hours of Sunday

Indian nationals, mostly students, who were evacuated from war-hit Ukraine, heaved a sigh of relief as an Air India flight carrying them landed at the airport here in the early hours of Sunday.

Suriya Subhash from Maharashtra's Solapur, who was among the 250 Indian citizens brought back on the flight from Romanian capital Bucharest, said she was relieved to be back in her country after a "hectic journey".

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"The situation is very bad there (Ukraine). People are stranded," she said.

Many students, who were brought back to India, were worried about their future education prospects due to the Russia offensive in Ukraine.

Vipin Ad, a fifth-year MBBS student at the Bukovinian State Medical University, told PTI that he and his friends had to wait for approximately 12 hours at the Ukraine-Romania border on Friday as there were various procedures to complete.

Ad, who is from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, said he had to walk around 5 km along the border area as there was a massive traffic jam with people rushing out from the country.

He said the university has announced a two-week holiday for students, after which only online classes will be held and expressed hope that he will be able to complete his final year on time.

The returnees belonged to different states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.

They thanked the Indian government for evacuating them and saving their lives.

"The situation is not good in Ukraine. We are worried about our studies. But it is good to be back. I thank the government for bringing us back," said Susmita Rathore, a first year medical student.

Aishwarya Pathak, a first year student of MBBS at the Bukovinian State Medical University in Chernivtsi, said that she and her classmates crossed the Ukraine-Romania border on Saturday night.

"The bus service was arranged by the university to take us from the campus in Chernivtsi (which is in western Ukraine) to the border. From the border, we were taken to the Bucharest airport in bus," she noted.

Pathak, who is from Belgaum in Karnataka, said she is worried about the course of her future studies.

"We paid so much fees so I am definitely concerned," she noted.

The university has told students that it will be taking online classes, she stated.

Chernivtsi is just 50 km from the Romanian border, said Aves Dela, another first-year MBBS student of Bukovinian State Medical University who arrived on the Air India flight.

Dela -- who was waiting to take his connecting flight to Rajkot, Gujarat -- told PTI he was part of the group of approximately 100 Indian college students who went to Ukrainian capital Kyiv -- which is in northern Ukraine -- to catch Air India's Kyiv-Delhi flight on February 24.

However, the Russian attack began on February 24 and the Ukrainian airspace was immediately shut down for civil aircraft operations. The Kyiv-Delhi service, along with all other flights in Ukraine, was then cancelled.

Dela said they immediately rushed back from Kyiv to Chernivtsi.

He said the university management then arranged a bus for them so that they can reach the Romanian border check point, from where another set of buses -- arranged by the Indian Embassy officials -- took them to Bucharest.

"We were able to cross the border very easily. There were no issues," he noted.

Another evacuee, Shraddha Shette, urged the government to bring back the remaining Indian students stranded in Ukraine.

"We are safe now, but other students stranded there are not and they are facing issues. We are worried about them. The government should bring them back as well," she said.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had said on February 24 that around 16,000 Indians, mainly students, were stranded in Ukraine.

"Air India has helped us. The Indian embassy fully cooperated with us," said another student Satyam Sambhaji from Maharashtra.

India on Saturday began the evacuation of its stranded citizens amid the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, with the first evacuation flight bringing back 219 people from Bucharest to Mumbai in the evening.

The Ukrainian airspace has been closed for civil aircraft operations since February 24 morning when the Russian military offensive began. The Indian evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest and Budapest.

The third evacuation flight is also scheduled to reach India from Hungarian capital Budapest on Sunday.

Prior to the closure of the Ukrainian airspace, Air India had operated a flight to Ukraine's capital Kyiv on February 22 that brought 240 people back to India.

It had planned to operate two more flights on February 24 and February 26 but could not do so as the Russian offensive began on February 24 and the Ukrainian airspace was consequently shut down.