The building that housed the Consulate General of Greece in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol has been damaged as a result of missile and bomb attacks by the Russian army, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed.
The Foreign Ministry said that the office of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine was also damaged, while the honoured consulates of Slovenia, Azerbaijan and Albania in Kharkiv were destroyed.
READ MORE: ‘Terrified of the war’: Expatriates, refugees reach Greece after escaping Ukraine.
“Russia’s armed attacks on the premises of diplomatic missions represent gross violation of international humanitarian law, the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations,” the Ukrainian Ministry said in a statement.
“We call on the international community to condemn Russia for its barbaric shelling of civilian objects in Ukraine, which results in murders and injuries of civilians, including children.”
In response, Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, wrote on Twitter that Greece is “very much trying to create a humanitarian corridor so that people that want to leave, can leave.”
READ MORE: Greek PM: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has ushered in new ‘cold war’.
“As we speak, I have a Consul General in Mariupol, the last EU diplomat there and we have a very difficult time getting him out of there. We are trying our best,” Dendias continued.
According to Ekathimerini, Consul General Manolis Andoulakis is currently sheltering in the building of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Mariupol.
This comes after Dendias met with the Secretary General of the OSCE, Helga Schmid, in Vienna on Tuesday.
READ MORE: ‘People are scared’: Ukraine’s Greek communities in agony as war rages on.
The two leaders discussed at length the situation and latest developments in Mariupol and Dendias stressed that his Ministry “will do everything in our power to bring the Greek consul general home safely.”
Dendias also thanked all Greek diplomats involved in the risky evacuations of Greek citizens and members of the Ukrainian Greek community from the country.
READ MORE: Greece evacuates expatriates in Mariupol as Russian troops encircle Ukrainian city.
