Cyprus still working to evacuate all of its citizens from Ukraine

There are currently 50 Cypriot citizens still in Ukraine as well as 10 Ukrainian nationals who have a permit for residence in Cyprus, foreign ministry spokesperson, Demetris Demetriou said on Thursday.

Demetriou told the Cyprus News Agency that Cypriots still in Ukraine are scattered in various regions of the country, something which in several instances “makes efforts for their evacuation difficult.”

“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 invited to remain safe and refrain from going out and putting their lives at risk,” he added

Demetriou said that on instructions from the foreign minister, the crisis management centre 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 a refuge, and if they intend to move somewhere else and be repatriated.

He said that a particularly difficult operation for the evacuation of individuals from the centre of Kyiv was recently completed.

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

Asked about the humanitarian aid from Cyprus to Ukraine, Demetriou said that as first response, the government has contributed, through the foreign ministry, the amount of €100,000 to the UN Humanitarian Aid Fund for Ukraine.

Also, through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, Cyprus has offered tents, blankets, camp beds, bottled water and other essential supplies, he added.

Demetriou also said that the Commissioner for the Citizen, Panayiotis Sentonas, was currently organising a food collection campaign in more than 40 centres islandwide, and that the first mission of humanitarian aid is expected to be dispatched from here to the Ukrainian people on March 8.