Evacuation of Thai nationals from Ukraine gets underway
The evacuation of Thai citizens from Ukraine is now underway, with 47 Thais having arrived at a dedicated facility in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, according to a Bangkok Post report. The Thai embassy in Warsaw, Poland, is managing the evacuation, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The embassy has opened a help centre in Lviv, with a specially chartered bus departing from the centre to transport Thai nationals to Warsaw.
The embassy says Thais in other cities in Ukraine have confirmed they are safe, but there are around 100 who are confined to their homes as a result of lockdowns in cities like Mykolayiv and Kharkiv. Ukraine continues to defend Kharkiv, the country’s second city, against the Russian incursion, which is now entering its fifth day.
According to the Thai embassy in Warsaw, 102 out of 148 Thai nationals living in the capital, Kyiv, have now left, but around 40 have chosen to remain with their families. Most of them are women who are married to Ukrainian men, who have been enlisted to fight against the Russian invasion.
The Bangkok Post reports that there are 2 evacuation routes being used to get Thais out of Ukraine. The first is taking them to the city of Odessa, in southern Ukraine, from where they travel across the border and into Romania. They then travel by bus to the Romanian capital, Bucharest, from where they fly to Thailand tomorrow and Wednesday.
Yesterday, the Thai nationals who arrived in Lviv were taken by bus to Warsaw, with more expected to be transported along the same route today. From there, they are booked on flights to Bangkok, departing between March 1 and 4.
Meanwhile, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed officials to help all Thais who are trapped in the country and do everything necessary to get them to the help centre at Lyiv. The government says the Department of Employment has also been in touch with the families of Thai workers in Ukraine, who are entitled to financial assistance from the fund for overseas workers.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
