New Delhi: As part of the ongoing 'Operation Ganga,' the Indian Air Force (IAF) returned 629 evacuated Indian nationals from Ukraine's neighbouring countries of Romania, Slovakia, and Poland on Saturday.

"Three C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force, which took off from Hindan Airbase on Friday, landed back at the base with the evacuated Indians on Saturday morning," according to the official release. "On the outbound journey, they carried 16.5 tonnes of relief material," the IAF tweeted.

So far, the IAF has flown 10 flights, returning 2,056 passengers while taking 26 tonnes of relief supplies to these three countries. Earlier in the day, V Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs, announced that over 11,000 Indians have been evacuated from Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a meeting on Friday to discuss the ongoing evacuation of Indian nationals as well as the situation in conflict-torn Ukraine. In addition, the government has deployed 'special envoys' to four neighbouring countries bordering Ukraine to coordinate and supervise the evacuation of Indian nationals.

On February 24, Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine, three days after Moscow recognised Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities

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