Russia-Ukraine war live updates: IAF's IL-76 planes kept on standby to evacuate Indians out of Russia

Operation Ganga continues with several flights set to bring back Indians from Ukraine through neighboring countries. With the possibility of the evacuation of Indians through Russia gaining ground, the Air Force has kept IL-76 planes on standby. Stay with TOI for the latest developments on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

IAF's IL-76 planes kept on standby to evacuate Indians via Russia.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has kept two IL-76 military transport aircraft on standby to evacuate Indians who are stranded in conflict-hit eastern Ukrainian cities like Sumy and Kharkiv from Russian capital Moscow, officials said on Friday.As the Indians stranded in eastern Ukranian cities, where the fighting is the heaviest, cannot move to the western border of Ukraine, the IAF is planning to evacuate them from Moscow with the help of Russian military forces, the officials noted.

Indians stranded in shelling-battered Sumy call for evacuation.

A bunch of Indian students stranded in the Ukrainian town of Sumy took to social media to plead for evacuation.Staring at fast-depleting food and water supplies, they are posting updates every few hours, and urging the government to rescue them immediately before the situation worsens. According to several reports, trains and buses have stopped plying in Sumy, roads and bridges out of the city destroyed and fighting was underway on the streets. All routes blocked and no help from the embassy in sight, the students are worried about their well-being.