Foreign Ministry: Nine Maldivians remaining in Ukraine

Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday stated that currently there were only nine Maldivians remaining in Ukraine.

Due to the ongoing conflicts between Russia-Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry has been working to evacuate Maldivians in Ukraine.

However, there have been obstructions after Russia initiated attacks against Ukraine.

Foreign Ministry detailed that from the nine people remaining, eight of them are in Kharkiv and one in Dnipro.

“We are working with other countries to bring those stuck in Kharkiv to safer areas.”

The ministry also revealed that Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid on Monday called those in Kharkiv and inquired about their situation.

Prior to the borders shutting down, when the fears of war peaked many Maldivians travelled back to Maldives. Despite getting the chance to leave before war broke out, some were unable to leave due to visa-related issues, stated the ministry.

From those who were unable to leave at the time, Foreign Ministry was able to make arrangements for 15 students residing in Ivano-Frankivsk to cross the border, travel to Hungary’s capital Budapest, after discussions with the Hungarian government. Those students arrived in Maldives on Monday.

Additionally, a Maldivian, married to a Ukrainian was able to cross into Hungary, along with the couple's two young children.

Furthermore, the Ministry said that they have made the decision to provide assistance to students from Belarus and Russia, who wish to return to Maldives.

The students who want to return and work to try arrange online classes from their universities.

General status in both Russia and Belarus are good at the moment.