The government does not have any plan, at least for now, to evacuate Bangladeshis from Ukraine, senior officials of the Foreign Ministry told Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.
However, the government has waived consular fees for those Bangladesh nationals who want to return home from the troubled country, they said.
The crisis in Ukraine has gone from bad to worse with Russia ordering its troops on Monday into two eastern regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, held by pro-Moscow separatists.
“As of now, the government has no plan to evacuate Bangladesh nationals from Ukraine,” a senior Foreign Ministry official told this correspondent.
When asked for the reasons, he said: “There are, of course, some logistic issues. Besides, most of the Bangladeshis do not want to return home as they went there by spending a lot of money.”
Asked about the number of Bangladeshis living in that country, the official said: “Look, our people generally do not register themselves with the nearest embassies. So, it is very difficult to know the exact figure. However, it is estimated that around 1,000 Bangladesh nationals live there right now. Most of them are students.”
“To be honest, the situation in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, where most of our people live, is fluid. Proxy wars have already started,” he said.
Another senior official said: “We do not have an embassy in Ukraine. Bangladesh’s embassy in Warsaw, Poland, manages our affairs related to Ukraine.”
“Any Bangladeshis who want to leave Ukraine will be issued travel permits from Bangladesh’s embassy in Poland free of charge. The Finance Ministry waived this fee on Tuesday,” he said.
The officials said that the advisory issued by the embassy in Poland on February 15 was still valid.
“In view of the uncertainties of the current situation in Ukraine, Bangladeshi nationals in Ukraine may consider leaving Ukraine temporarily. Bangladeshi nationals are also advised to avoid all non-essential travel to Ukraine. They are also requested to keep the Embassy informed about the status of their presence in Ukraine to enable the Embassy to reach them where and when required,” said the advisory.
Another advisory issued by the embassy on February 13 said: “Owing to the current warlike situation, expatriate Bangladeshis in Ukraine are advised to move to safer places. The safer places could be some neutral countries or the border areas with Poland in western Ukraine. The advice will remain in place until the situation gets stable.”
