Greece advises citizens to leave Ukraine ‘immediately’

ATHENS

Greece on Monday advised its citizens to leave Ukraine “immediately”, discouraging all travel throughout Ukraine, according to the country’s Foreign Ministry.

In a statement, the ministry said that a meeting was held with the participation of Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, National Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos, Education and Religious Affairs Minister Niki Kerameos, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andreas Katsaniotis.

“The Foreign Ministry strongly discourages all travel throughout Ukraine, and also advises Greek citizens in the country to leave the country immediately,” the ministry said.

The ministry also noted that the number of staff at the Greek Embassy in Kyiv has been reduced, adding the staff at the Consulate General of Mariupol will be strengthened.

The advisory came amid rising tensions along the Ukraine-Russia border due to a Russian military buildup.

Ukraine has been plagued by a conflict in its eastern regions since March 2014 following Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea.

Moscow recently amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that the Kremlin could be planning another military offensive against its ex-Soviet neighbor.

Russia has denied it is preparing to invade and accused Western countries of undermining its security by NATO’s expansion towards its borders.

* Writing by Seda Sevencan​​​​​​​