The Foreign Ministry says all 9 remaining Maldivians in war-affected Ukraine are now hours from its western border
In its latest update, the Ministry said that all 9 are traveling towards Ukraine's western border and that they are a couple of hours from the border.
They are expected to evacuate to Hungary as the government had been working tirelessly with Hungarian officials to ensure that all Maldivians in Ukraine are moved to safety following Russian-initiated military action in the Eastern European country.
Out of the 9, 8 Maldivians had been stuck in the Russian-border city of Kharkiv where heavy fighting between invading Russian forces and defending Ukrainian forces had been reported two days back.
The Maldivian nationals had been hiding underground along with other residents of the city and the Foreign Ministry had kept regular contact with the stranded locals.
Another Maldivian had been stuck in Dnipro when war broke out in Ukraine but is now also traveling to the western border.
Although many had criticized the government for its delay in evacuating the Maldivians in Ukraine to safety, the stranded Maldivian nationals had collectively lauded the government's efforts to guarantee their well-being.
The Foreign Ministry had been regularly updating the media on the situation in Ukraine as well as about the conditions of the Maldivian students in Russia and Belarus.
