India's import orders to a Ukrainian firm for thousands of wheel sets for Vande Bharat trains have been hit by the war. But, 128 wheels were taken to neighbouring Romania by road and will be airlifted by the railways for trials next month, sources said on Sunday.

They also said that to meet its target of launching 75 semi-high speed trains on prominent routes across the country by the end of this year, India has now placed orders for wheels with Czech Republic, Poland and the United States. The sources also said that India may look at China too as it also supplies wheels.

Indicating that Ukraine, which is one of the world's largest suppliers of such wheels, has virtually stopped new production with most staffers joining the war effort after Russia launched a military offensive on February 24. The railways plan, hereafter, of launching dozens of new Vande Bharat train this years ran into troubles as the entire order given to the Ukraine-based firm of 36,000 wheels at a cost of $16 million looked undeliverable.

The sources said the payment was to be made through a Letter of Credit after the deliveries were made. The wheels were planned to be shipped from the Ukrainian Black Sea Port to Maharashtra's Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which has not happened due to the war. However, the sources said told .