Greece’s Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned the Ukrainian ambassador to deliver a demarche requesting clarifications over the death of an ethnic Greek and the serious injury of two more in an incident involving Ukrainian soldiers in the country’s east on Tuesday.
The fatal incident took place in the village of Granitna near the front-line of the conflict with pro-Russian separatist forces.
According to a statement by the Foreign Ministry, Ukrainian Ambassador Shutenko Sergii expressed his sincere condolences to the families of the victims, stating that there was no political or ethnic motive behind the incident.
READ MORE: One Greek killed in Ukraine as Greece urges citizens to leave ‘immediately’.
Ambassador Sergii said that two Ukrainian citizens died, one of whom was an ethnic Greek, while two were seriously injured.
Those responsible have been arrested and will be brought to justice, he added.
This comes after The Federation of Greek Societies in Ukraine issued a statement on Facebook on Monday night urging Greek media to avoid spreading “fake information” about the incident.
READ MORE: Greece affirms solidarity with diaspora in Ukraine amid tensions with Russia.
“The clash, which took place at night at a local café had absolutely nothing to do with the worsening situation at the contact line between the parties, nor with any [form of] military persecution of the local population, as imagined by certain Greek bloggers,” the statement said.
Greece has issued an advisory urging its nationals to avoid travelling to Ukraine and calling on any Greeks there to leave “immediately” in the face of fears that Russia, which has massed forces near Ukraine’s borders, could soon invade.
Source: Ekathimerini.
