Safe corridor being made for Vietnamese to evacuate from Ukraine: Spokesperson

Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and Vietnamese representative agencies in Russia and Ukraine are working with local competent agencies to create a safe corridor for Vietnamese in Mariupol and other localities of Ukraine to evacuate to a safe place, said the ministry's Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang.

Answering reporters’ questions regarding the current situation of Vietnamese people in Ukraine on March 18, Hang said that following directions by the Party, State, Government and the Prime Minister, relevant agencies at home and abroad have actively applied measures to ensure the safety of Vietnamese people in Ukraine.

As of March 17, Vietnam had operated five flights to bring home 1,385 Vietnamese who fleed Ukraine to Romania and Poland, she said.

She cited information from the Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine that as of March 17, more than 300 Vietnamese people in Ukraine had still stayed in Donestk, Lugan, Chernigov, Kherson, Kharkov and Odessa. Most of them have lived and worked in the cities for a long time and have jobs, houses and property in Ukraine. They have no intention of leaving the cities to neighbouring countries or returning to Vietnam, she said.

Hang informed that in Mariupol city alone, where tense conflict is underway, there were about 80 Vietnamese people as of March 17. As of March 18, 45 people had been safely evacuated, while the remaining 35 had been still safe and kept contacts with the embassy, she said.

Vietnam has worked hard with citizen protection activities, she said, noting that Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son held telephone talks with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, and Vietnamese Embassies in the two countries contacted with local authorities to ask for support in ensuring maximum security and safety for Vietnamese citizens and their families as well as the provision of food, foodstuff and necessities for them and the creation of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of Vietnamese citizens from the war areas, especially Mariupol.

Vietnam has also asked the United Nations and other international organisations to to support and provide humanitarian aid for the people, and asked for assistance from other countries in evacuating and receiving them, and processing entry and exit procedures as well as arranging accommodations for them.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese representative offices have sent officials to the border areas to support the people, Hang added./.

VNA