Iran sends flight to Poland to bring back students stuck in Ukraine
Iran has sent an aircraft to Poland to bring back its citizens who have traveled from Ukraine where the country's airspace has been closed to civilian flights amid a war with Russia.
"The first special flight to transfer compatriots from Poland to our country will take off a few hours later. So far, 300 students have been settled in Warsaw alone," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh tweeted early Tuesday.
"Extensive efforts are being made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our embassies in Ukraine and neighboring countries to return our compatriots to the country with the least difficulty."
Earlier, national flag carrier Iran Air said an Airbus A330 left Tehran for Warsaw to bring back Iranians, mostly students who had got stuck in Ukraine after the breakout of the conflict on Thursday.
On Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry said the country's embassy in Kiev remains open as it "expressed regret over certain hype on social networks".
Iran's Ambassador to Ukraine Manouchehr Moradi visited Iranian students at a shelter in Kiev on Friday, after a clip went viral showing them holed up at the site.
The ambassador assured them that the government would do everything in its power to have them repatriated.
“The most important current mission of Iran’s Foreign Ministry is to fully and urgently address the situation of Iranians living in Ukraine, which is underway according to predictions made using all capacities,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Some 80,000 international students study in Ukraine, according to data from Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science. The largest number comes from India, followed by Morocco, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Nigeria.
On social media, students and their supporters have asked their home governments to charter planes out of the country, sharing locations where students were stranded, and offering advice about where to find shelter. Users have also circulated emergency contact numbers for stranded students from various countries.
Raeisi attends inauguration of Iran-built mega multipurpose project in Sri Lanka
Iran releases details of confiscated Israeli transit cargo
Opportunities of 25-year partnership for Iran and China
VIDEO | UN: Alarming food insecurity crisis grips Afghanistan
VIDEO | Stuck in quagmire
UK suspends legal assessments of Israeli violations in Gaza
Students protest at US universities to urge end in financial ties to Israel
Biden signs war aid bill supplying Israel, Ukraine with more weapons
VIDEO | France, West warn Israel against escalation with Iran
Iran refutes Kuwait’s assertion of exclusive rights to Arash gas field
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
