Indonesia evacuates citizens from Ukraine to safety in Poland, Romania
Indonesia has evacuated 31 Indonesian nationals residing in Ukraine into neighbouring Poland and Romania, where they are awaiting repatriation flights, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine enters its fifth day.
A group of 25 Indonesians were evacuated from Odessa in southern Ukraine and arrived in Romania on Sunday, The Jakarta Post reported. Another group of 6 Indonesians and 1 foreign spouse were evacuated from Lviv in western Ukraine and arrived in Rzeszow, Poland, on Monday.
The Indonesian Embassy in Kyiv coordinated the evacuation by bus (pictured), with the embassy in Bucharest assisting the evacuation to Romania and the embassy in Warsaw assisting the evacuation to Poland.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah told The Jakarta Post on Monday…
“The government has moved them to safer places in Poland and Romania and later will provide flight options… The development on the ground is very fast, many airports are closed.”
Russian forces have have now seized many Ukrainian airports, which were already closed to commercial flights. Since Russian began its invasion last week, Ukraine has halted all civil air traffic and declared martial law, leaving evacuation from the country by road or railway as the only viable options.
Road are reportedly slow and dangerous, while trains are overcrowded. Half a million Ukrainians, mostly women, children and the elderly, have already fled the county, according to reports.
Meanwhile, Thailand is currently evacuating its own citizens from Ukraine, with the first round of repatriation flights from Warsaw and Bucharest — carrying around a hundred Thai citizens — scheduled to arrive in Thailand on Wednesday.
PHOTOS: Indonesian evacuees from Ukraine arrive at the Indonesian Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, where they were they are being sheltered until boarding flights to Indonesia. Credit: Indonesian Embassy in Kviv | Facebook
SOURCE: Jakarta Post | Indonesian Embassy in Kyiv
