Greece’s Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, confirmed on Monday that Operation ‘Nostos 5’ was successful and 34 people were evacuated from the Ukrainian city of Odessa.
The evacuees were accompanied by Odessa Consul General Dimitrios Dochtsis to Moldova.
So far, Greece has repatriated nearly 200 of its own nationals from Kyiv, Mariupol and Odessa, according to the Greek Foreign Ministry.
Over 4,600 refugees from Ukraine have also reached Greece since the Russian invasion, including over 1,400 children.
One 15-year-old girl spoke with The Digital Journal about her journey to Greece as she waited at the border to be issued emergency refugee documents.
She had just spent 25 hours on a coach from the Ukrainian city of Lviv to the Greek-Bulgarian border crossing of Promachonas.
READ MORE: Greek PM: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has ushered in new ‘cold war’.
“I’m terrified of the war. I want this to end quickly so I can go back home,” she told the media outlet.
52-year-old Yiannis has been living in the Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi for the past 20 years and is relieved to have returned to Greece.
“There are over 10,000 people gathered on the border with Romania and most of them want to come to Greece,” he said.
READ MORE: Thousands attend anti-war protest in Athens as Ukraine braces for all-out Russian attack.
“May God help stop this war.”
Greece is currently issuing temporary residence permits to Ukrainian refugees, who will be able to stay and work in the country for one year.
READ MORE: ‘People are scared’: Ukraine’s Greek communities in agony as war rages on.
Source: The Digital Journal.
