More than 60 Iraqis evacuated from Ukraine's besieged cities 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that it had evacuated over 60 Iraqi nationals from the embattled Ukrainian cities of Sumy and Kharkiv, as the Russian invasion of the eastern European country continues. 

In coordination with the Ukrainian foreign ministry, 60 Iraqi nationals were evacuated from Sumy in the country's northeast, Ahmad al-Sahaf, the foreign ministry's spokesperson, said in a statement. 

Another five Iraqis, including women and children, were also evacuated from the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, which had been under Russian bombardments since last week. 

Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, sparking Europe's largest conflict since the Second World War. 

Ukraine's allies in Europe and the US have imposed unprecedented sanctions on vital Russian interests since last week, including banks, businesses, and asset freezes. On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden banned all Russian energy imports.

In addition to sanctions, the European allies have provided security assistance to embattled Ukraine, including portable anti-aircraft Stinger and anti-tank Javelin missiles. 

Since the war broke out, the warring sides have had direct talks. However, these have had limited success, with bombardments and sporadic skirmishes still ongoing after a fortnight of hostilities.