Ukraine Assisted 130 Thousand Foreigners, Students to Leave – 200 Uzbek, 1700 Turkmen, 2500 Chinese

Islamabad/ Kyiv ; 06 March 2022 – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has clarified on Allegations of Unequal Treatment of Foreign Students, that every possible support is being provided to the students and citizens of foreign origin in the given circumstances.

In light of the allegations of unequal treatment of foreign students leaving Ukraine because of the Russian armed aggression, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine wishes to state the following ;

” Discrimination of any kind, which includes discrimination based on race, skin color or nationality, has never been condoned in Ukraine which has been a key destination for foreign students from all corners of the globe for decades. The Ukrainian government takes very seriously all accounts alleging unequal treatment, including when it comes to the crossing of the state border by foreign citizens.”

MOFA Ukraine has stated the “We continue to prioritize supporting foreign citizens to leave Ukraine as safely and as quickly as possible. Over the past week, the government of Ukraine has assisted more than 130,000 foreigners to leave the country, including 10,000 Indian, 2,500 Chinese, 1,700 Turkmen and 200 Uzbek students.”

“We call on diplomatic missions of other countries to be more proactive in joining our efforts to evacuate their nationals from the conflict zones, and keep regular contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.” The statement further reads.

“Russian armed forces continue to shell Ukrainian cities in violation of the ceasefire agreement. This has a direct, negative impact on our ability to secure the safe evacuation of foreign citizens out of Ukraine. Russia’s armed aggression continues to result in the killing and maiming of innocent people, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and it continues to create obstacles for the safe departure of foreign citizens.”

“We urge all foreign governments to demand from President Putin that he immediately stop his war on Ukraine.”

“Please note that despite extremely difficult conditions, the Ukrainian government has continued to keep all checkpoints on the western border open, 24 hours a day. Checks and check-in operations have been simplified as much as possible.” The statement concludes.