Morocco evacuates citizens from Ukraine

Ukrainians flock to the train station to leave the capital Kyiv after Russian begin military operations in the country on 25 February 2022 [Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency]

The Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday that as many as 1,534 Moroccan citizens had been evacuated from Ukraine by mid-afternoon. According to a ministry official, that number is likely to rise.

The official said that 720 Moroccans left Ukraine to go to Poland, 384 went through Romania, 300 went through Slovakia and 130 got out via Hungary. The foreign ministry has dispatched twenty consular staff, including four former consul-generals, to support and assist the Moroccan embassies on the ground in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.

Earlier on Monday, the families of Moroccan students in Ukraine organised a protest in front of the Foreign Ministry building in Rabat to demand the authorities to evacuate their stranded relatives. On Sunday, Morocco announced that three special flights would evacuate its citizens from Ukraine by Wednesday, through Bucharest, Budapest and Warsaw.

The Moroccan Embassy in Kyiv called on Friday for its nationals wishing to leave Ukraine to head towards the border crossings and go into Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. The announcement was made a day after Russia invaded.

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