ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraqi and Polish authorities are hosting joint operations to assist Iraqi nationals stuck in Ukraine as the Eastern European country faces a large-scale offensive launched by Russia, an official from the Iraqi foreign ministry announced on Saturday.
The ministry also allocated several hotlines for Iraqis in Ukraine in the event of an emergency.
"The embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Poland is coordinating with Polish authorities and border guards to provide support to members of the community who are capable of leaving Ukraine," Ahmed al-Sahaf, spokesperson for Iraq's foreign ministry said.
Sahaf said that the Iraqi foreign ministry is "following with great interest the development of events in Ukraine and their repercussions on the safety and security of the honorable Iraqi community," adding that various measures have been taken to secure the Iraqi embassy building in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv as the city faces an ongoing assault.
Iraqi officials in Ukraine also successfully urged for the release of four nationals detained in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv after their apprehension by Ukrainian police near the Polish border.
Two days ago, Iraq's embassy in Ukraine addressed Ukrainian universities and institutions to grant Iraqi students studying in the country emergency leave.
An estimated number of 5,500 Iraqis, including Kurds, are in Ukraine, Sahaf told Rudaw English over the phone on Thursday.
A Kurdish student studying in Ukraine was reportedly killed by Russian bombardments, a friend of his told Rudaw on Friday.
Russian President Vladmir Putin launched an offensive on Ukraine on Thursday.
Putin has amassed around 200,000 troops along the borders of Ukraine, as weeks of intense diplomacy and ensuing western sanctions failed to deter the Russian president from launching the attack.
Earlier in February, Iraq called on its citizens to leave Ukraine.
The ministry also allocated several hotlines for Iraqis in Ukraine in the event of an emergency.
"The embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Poland is coordinating with Polish authorities and border guards to provide support to members of the community who are capable of leaving Ukraine," Ahmed al-Sahaf, spokesperson for Iraq's foreign ministry said.
Sahaf said that the Iraqi foreign ministry is "following with great interest the development of events in Ukraine and their repercussions on the safety and security of the honorable Iraqi community," adding that various measures have been taken to secure the Iraqi embassy building in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv as the city faces an ongoing assault.
Iraqi officials in Ukraine also successfully urged for the release of four nationals detained in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv after their apprehension by Ukrainian police near the Polish border.
Two days ago, Iraq's embassy in Ukraine addressed Ukrainian universities and institutions to grant Iraqi students studying in the country emergency leave.
An estimated number of 5,500 Iraqis, including Kurds, are in Ukraine, Sahaf told Rudaw English over the phone on Thursday.
A Kurdish student studying in Ukraine was reportedly killed by Russian bombardments, a friend of his told Rudaw on Friday.
Russian President Vladmir Putin launched an offensive on Ukraine on Thursday.
Putin has amassed around 200,000 troops along the borders of Ukraine, as weeks of intense diplomacy and ensuing western sanctions failed to deter the Russian president from launching the attack.
Earlier in February, Iraq called on its citizens to leave Ukraine.
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