'There is no airstrip...' Rajnath says PM trying to get Naveen's body back from Ukraine

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday some 2,500 people have been evacuated till March 2 morning, and the government has also dispatched an IAF jet — a C-17 Globemaster – to bolster India's evacuation operations. Singh went on to say that Indians are first arriving in Ukraine's neighbouring nations, and the government is transporting them back from there. He further stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews and monitors the situation in war-torn Ukraine twice daily.

"PM is reviewing the situation in Ukraine twice a day. Evacuation continues. Now we've also deployed IAF plane for the same. About 2,500 people evacuated till this morning- they are being sent to neighbouring nations and being brought back from there," Singh was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.

He further spoke about bringing the body of the Indian student, Naveen Shekharappa, who died in shelling, and said the Ministry of External Affairs, PM Modi, are working on it. "Given the situation in Ukraine, there is no airstrip and even a plane can't land there," he added.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has also put its C-17 Globemaster aircraft to work under Operation Ganga. Till today, a total of 16 flights have already brought back stranded Indians from Ukraine.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said that an Indian student, Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, was killed in shelling in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. MEA spokeswoman Arindam Bagchi stated on Twitter, "With deep regret, we confirm that one Indian student was killed in shelling in Kharkiv this morning." His family has been contacted by the Ministry. We extend our sincere condolences to the family."

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