Take Advantage of Evacuation Exercise – Gov’t Tells Ghanaians in Ukraine

Ghanaians living in Ukraine have been urged to take advantage of the ongoing evacuation exercise by the government to leave the distressed European country.

The call follows reports that an unspecified number of Ghanaians living in Ukraine has refused to take the evacuation options presented to them by the Ghanaian government through its missions.

With the closure of Ukraine’s airspace, the options available to Ghanaians have been countries such as Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

According to data available to the government, there were about 1,200 Ghanaians in Ukraine with 945 of them being students registered with the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), Ukraine. Out of this number, about 527 Ghanaian nationals had crossed the Ukrainian border to various European countries.

The data showed that 49 Ghanaians, including one child, have moved to the Czech Republic, 25 Ghanaians are in Slovakia, 134 Ghanaians in Romania, 81 in Poland, and 221 in Hungary.

“We are all gratified to learn that over 500 of our citizens have made it safely across various European borders to safety.

We share in your anxieties and pray for the safe return of all our compatriots to Ghana,” said Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor-Botchwey.

Seventeen of the students arrived at the Kotoka International Airport this morning and were met by a delegation from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Two other batches from Romania in different groups of 70 and 64, respectively, are expected to arrive in the country later this week.

Madam Ayorkor-Botchwey, in a meeting with relatives of Ghanaians living in Ukraine, however, raised concerns about some Ghanaians refusing to take the evacuation option and asked their relatives, “to encourage them to take advantage of this evacuation exercise to return to Ghana.”

She assured the relatives of the government’s readiness to evacuate all of its citizens in a coordinated manner.

“I wish to reiterate that the government has put in place the necessary package to facilitate transportation, accommodation, feeding, medical support, etc. to ease any burden on our compatriots,” she said.