Fifty Cypriot nationals still in Ukraine

There are currently 50 Cypriot citizens in Ukraine as well as 10 Ukrainian nationals who have a permit for residence in Cyprus, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Demetris Demetriou, has told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), adding that the Ministry "continues to work so that it will be possible to safely and smoothly evacuate all Cypriots" from Ukraine.

Asked about the Cypriots who remain in Ukraine, Demetriou said that "Cypriots who continue to be in the country are scattered in various regions, something which in several cases makes efforts for their evacuation difficult."

Moreover, he said that "the movement of individuals from cities where the war is underway is risky and dangerous right now. The recent example of the evacuation of a Greek group from Mariupol has proven this. Cypriots who continue to be in the country are asked to remain in safe areas and refrain from getting out and putting their lives at risk," he added

Demetriou noted that "upon instructions by the Foreign Minister, the Crisis Management Center and the staff of the Cypriot Embassy in Kyiv have contacted all Cypriots who are in Ukraine by phone, in order to update their personal details, get to know their situation, if they are safe and have access to refuge, and if they intend to move somewhere else and be repatriated."

Moreover, he recalled that a particularly difficult operation for the evacuation of individuals from the center of Kyiv was recently completed.

Demetriou said that among the 42 persons who were evacuated were Cypriot and Greek citizens, as well as EU member states citizens, who asked for consular assistance from the Republic of Cyprus. Among them were a baby, young children and elders, as well as pregnant women," he added.

Asked about the humanitarian aid from Cyprus to Ukraine, Demetriou noted that "as a first response, the Government contributed, through the Foreign Ministry, the amount of 100,000 euros to the UN Humanitarian Aid Fund for Ukraine."

He added that "moreover the first humanitarian aid package includes medical goods worth 700,000 euros. Through the EU Civil Protection Agency, the Republic of Cyprus has offered tents, blankets, camp beds, bottled water and other essential supplies."

Demetriou also said that the Commissioner for the Citizen, Panayiotis Sentonas, is currently organizing a food collection campaign in more than 40 centers island-wide and that the first batch of humanitarian aid is expected to be dispatched to the Ukrainian people on March 8.