New Delhi, Mar 4: With India putting in more efforts to evacuate stranded Indian citizens from Ukraine, India is deploying its Russian-origin Ilyushin-76 heavy-lift transport aircraft to Russia.

 

 

Reports suggest that the Air Force is taking all precautions and not sending its American-origin C-17 aircraft and would instead deploy the Russian-origin Ilyushin-76 for the evacuation mission from Russia.

 

 

"Indian Air Force is deploying Russian-origin Ilyushin-76 heavy-lift transport aircraft to Russia to bring back Indian citizens returning from Ukraine. India is not deploying American-origin C-17 planes for the mission," according to the sources. The Il-76 is expected to get clearance for take off shortly.

 

A number of Indian students from Ukraine are moving into the Russian territory from the Ukrainian side with assistance from the Indian government. In the ongoing war in Ukraine, Russia and America are on different sides and there is a possibility that Russians may not like the presence of American origin planes in their airspace.

 

 

India has, so far, deployed only C-17s and commercial planes to bring back citizens from Poland, Romania and Hungary to evacuate citizens returning from there. MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that a total of 18,000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine since the first advisory was released. He said that a total 30 flights under Operation Ganga have brought back 6,400 Indians from Ukraine so far. Arindam Bagchi further added that in the next 24 hours, 18 flights have been scheduled.