Iraq evacuates 20 more nationals from Ukraine as fighting continues

Since the war broke out in Ukraine, an Iraqi citizen named Qusay has gone missing.

Kurdistan 24 2022/03/15 15:34

Ukrainians return back to their country at the Hungarian-Ukrainian border crossing, March 6, 2022. (Photo: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP)

Iraq Ukraine Crisis Russian invasion of Ukraine Iraq

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it had evacuated 20 more Iraqi citizens amid the ongoing war with Russia, according to a statement.

The evacuated nationals include families and children, according to a Monday statement from Ahmad Al-Sahaf, the spokesperson for the Iraqi foreign ministry, the state media Iraqi News Agency reported.

Since the war broke out in Ukraine, an Iraqi citizen named Qusay has gone missing.

The Iraqi diplomats in Ukraine have contacted the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and the Ukrainian foreign ministry to learn about his whereabouts, Al-Sahaf said in the statement.

According to Iraqi figures, more than 5,500 Iraqis, including half a thousand students, were in Ukraine before the Russian invasion, which has displaced more than 1.5 million people.

Most of the evacuees head towards neighboring Poland, which had hosted most of those fleeing from Ukraine.

More than 30 people were recently killed when a Russian missile hit an area in western Ukraine, only 25 kilometers (15 miles) away from the Polish border.

Even though Poland is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance, the latest attack near its border caused anxiety among its population, resulting in panic buying an increase in passport renewals.