President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has ordered the repatriation of Maldivians residing in Ukraine amidst the brewing war in the region.
According to the Spokesperson for the President’s Office, Mabrook Azeez, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has commenced efforts to bring back Maldivians residing in Ukraine. Moreover, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that they are providing assistance to all the students who seek to return to Maldives.
However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that this is not a full scale evacuation. They will be providing financial assistance to the students who wish to return. As flights are operating and borders remain open as usual, students will be able to travel normally, via commercial flights.
There are a total of 50 Maldivians living in Ukraine, majority of them, are residing in an area called Kharkiv, which is the closest main city to the Russian border.
Tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalated when Ukraine initiated talks to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
