With the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol under siege by Russian forces, and after Russian assurances that a westward humanitarian corridor, toward Moldova and Romania, will be opened tomorrow, the Greek foreign ministry has decided to evacuate most employees at the Consulate General in the city, all journalists who have taken refuge there, and Greek citizens who want to leave.
The motorcade, headed by Ambassador Fragiskos Kostellenos, will depart at 11:00 tomorrow, 2 March, and citizens will take their own vehicles.
Greek citizens who have declared they want to leave Mariupol are being assisted by the Consulate General and the foreign ministry’s Crisis Management Unit.
The plan is for the motorcade to move toward the city of Zaporizhzhia, south-eastern Ukraine, and then, depending on conditions, toward the border with Moldova, where a contingent led by Greece’s ambassador to Bucharest, Sophia Grammata, will offer all possible assistance.
Consul General Manolis Androulakis, will remain at the consulate general, which will continue to operate.
