Most Vietnamese citizens in Ukraine evacuated from battle zone: spokesperson

Hanoi (VNA) - The Party and State of Vietnam give the highest priority to citizen protection measures so as to ensure safety of lives, assets, and legitimate and rightful interests of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities, as well as staff members of Vietnamese representative offices in Ukraine, said spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang. 

She made the remark during the ministry's regular press conference held virtually on March 3, in response to reporters’ question about the situation of the Vietnamese community in Ukraine and citizen protection work. 

In accordance with a Government’s official dispatch dated February 26 on protecting Vietnamese citizens and legal entities and issues of concerns in the current situation in Ukraine, Vietnamese ministries, sectors and representative offices in Ukraine and neighbouring countries of Poland, Russia, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia have closely worked together to carry out citizen protection measures, ensuring security and safety, as well as necessary conditions to evacuate Vietnamese citizens from the combat zone and help them return to Vietnam if they want to, the spokesperson said.

Vietnamese representative offices in those countries have operated citizen protection hotlines round the clock to update Vietnamese travelling from Ukraine on safe travel routes; and worked with organisations to receive and support the displaced. 

The MoFA has asked relevant authorities of the sides to create a safe corridor and facilitate entry, transit and temporary stay of Vietnamese citizens, as well as provide them with necessities. 

As of March 3 afternoon (Vietnam time), most Vietnamese citizens in Kyiv, Odessa and hundreds of people in Kharkov had been evacuated from the battle zone and helped to travel to neighbouring countries.

More than 400 people had arrived in Moldova and were set to move on to Romania; while 600 had reached Poland, 70 others to Romania; about 30 to Slovakia and 50 to Hungary. Vietnamese ambassadors and staff at the embassies had met the citizens and provided them with necessary support, Hang continued. 

Representative offices have spared no efforts in assisting the evacuated people with necessary procedures and working with local authorities and Vietnamese organisations to arrange temporary shelters for them.

“The MOFA and representative offices are receiving requests from those who want to return to Vietnam to collaborate with relevant ministries, sectors and airlines to promptly arrange flights in tandem with the Government’s guidelines, in a humanitarian, swift and safe approach. Information on such flights will be informed to the citizens in a timely, open and transparent manner ”, the spokesperson affirmed./.