99 Indonesians evacuated from Ukraine: minister

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi informed that 99 Indonesian citizens (WNI) have been evacuated from Ukraine so far.

"A total of 99 WNI have left Ukraine. The number has included the five WNI who were conducting self-evacuation," she said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

In addition to the WNI, the government has evacuated four foreigners who were related to the Indonesians, she added.

The first evacuees—25 WNI who were evacuated from Odessa, Ukraine — arrived in Bucharest, Romania, on February 27, 2022, at 4:30 p.m. local time, the minister said.

All of the evacuees were well, she informed. However, one of them had tested positive for COVID-19, she said. Currently, the person is being treated, she added.

During the government’s second evacuation, six Indonesians and one foreigner -- who is related to one of the WNIs -- were evacuated from Lviv, Ukraine, Marsudi said.

They arrived at the Indonesian Embassy in Warsaw’s safe house in Rzeszow, Poland on February 27, 2022, at 8:45 p.m. local time, she added.

Meanwhile, in the third evacuation, four Indonesian citizens as well as two foreigners who were spouses of the WNI were picked up by a team from the Indonesian Embassy in Warsaw from Lviv, Ukraine, and brought to Poland, she said.

The evacuees reached the Indonesian Embassy in Warsaw’s safe house on February 28, 2022, at 7:40 p.m. local time, she added.

The last group of evacuees comprising 59 WNI and one foreigner were evacuated from Kyiv, Ukraine, to Moldova and are on their way to Romania, she said.

"Previously, the evacuation attempt from Kyiv was planned to be carried out on February 27, 2022. However, due to the implementation of curfew policy and the damaged road due to the war, the evacuation had to be rearranged," Marsudi said.

She was involved directly in the evacuation plan rearrangement.

Currently, all Indonesian citizens are in two safe houses -- Bucharest, Romania, and Rzeszow, Poland, she said.

However, there are still four WNI in Kharkiv and nine WNI in Chernihiv in northern Ukraine who have not been evacuated since the battle is still taking place in the region, she added.  

“The Indonesian Embassy in Kyiv and the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow continuously keep in contact with them. They are healthy and have adequate logistical supplies," the minister said.

The Indonesian government is still waiting for the right time to evacuate them, she said.

Furthermore, there are 24 Indonesian citizens who have chosen to stay in Ukraine since they are married to local citizens, she informed. []

Source: Antara