There are 50 Cypriots who are currently in Ukraine and another 10 other people who are Ukrainian citizens with a residence permit in Cyprus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Dimitris Dimitriou, told CNA adding that the Ministry “continues to work so that it is possible to evacuate all Cypriots safely and smoothly.”

Asked about the Cypriots who remain in Ukraine, Mr. Dimitriou said that “the Cypriots who are still in the country are scattered in various areas, which in some cases makes their evacuation difficult.”

He also noted that “the movement of people from cities in a state of war is risky and dangerous at the moment. The recent example of the evacuation of the Greek mission from Mariupol confirms this. All Cypriots who are still in the country are called on to stay safe and avoid traffic so as not to endanger their lives,” he added.

He also added that “following the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ instructions, the Crisis Management Center and the staff of the Embassy of the Republic in Kyiv have contacted all Cypriots in Ukraine by telephone, with the aim of updating their data to determine their current condition, that is, if they are safe and have access to shelter and if they intend to move and repatriate.”

Mr. Dimitriou also reminded that recently an extremely difficult operation was carried out to evacuate people from the center of Kyiv, which was successfully completed.

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“Among the 42 people who were evacuated were Cypriot and Greek citizens as well as citizens of EU member-states who requested consular assistance from the Republic of Cyprus. The evacuation mission included an infant, young children, and the elderly as well as a pregnant woman,” he noted.

Asked about the humanitarian aid from Cyprus to Ukraine, Mr. Dimitriou stated that “as a first reaction, the Government has already contributed, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the amount of € 100,000 to the United Nations Humanitarian Aid Fund for Ukraine.”

He added that “in addition to the first package of humanitarian aid, medical products worth € 700,000 are included. Through the Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union, the Republic of Cyprus has offered tents, blankets, sleeping bags, bottled water, and other basic necessities,” he commented.

At the same time, he said, food is being collected in more than 40 centers that were activated across Cyprus by the Citizen Commissioner, Panagiotis Sentonas, who undertook the coordination of the collection of humanitarian aid. The first shipment of these necessities to the Ukrainian people is expected to take place next Tuesday, March 8, concluded Mr. Dimitriou.

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