Bangladeshi expatriates in Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia on Thursday, will now be allowed to enter neighbouring Poland without visas, according to a press release by the Bangladesh Embassy in Warsaw.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam shared the release mentioning the details on his Facebook page on Friday morning.
Valid passport holders will be able to enter Poland by showing their passports only to the border guards, it said.
Also Read- Bangladesh to arrange evacuation flight from Poland for expats leaving Ukraine
Those who do not have a passport will also be allowed to enter Poland with a travel pass. Every Bangladeshi who wants to cross over has been asked to carry two copies of passport-sized colour photos, said the release.
Seven Bangladeshis had already crossed the border and entered Poland, said the Bangladesh mission in Poland.
Bangladesh does not currently have an embassy or a consulate in Ukraine. The country's embassy in Poland only acts as Ukraine's de-facto diplomatic mission.
The embassy also added that a delegation would soon reach the Hrushiv-Budomezh checkpoint of the Poland-Ukraine border to help the Bangladeshis enter Poland.
Expatriate Bangladeshis residing in areas far from the border have been requested to move towards the Polish border while monitoring the situation since the Russian invasion has resulted in sporadic explosions in different areas, gridlocked highways as locals are fleeing and petrol shortage, the release said.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Poland Sultana Laila Hossain urged Bangladeshis not to pay heed to information obtained from any source other than the embassy.
On Thursday, State Minister Alam had said that the Bangladesh government will arrange chartered flights to bring back Bangladeshis who would leave Ukraine and arrive in Poland.
Also Read- Efforts on to move Bangladeshis from Ukraine to Poland
Poland will allow Bangladeshis to stay for 15 days upon their arrival from Ukraine and the government of Bangladesh hopes to repatriate its citizens much ahead of the timeline.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has confirmed multiple reports of Russian missile strikes in a national address early in the morning.
Refugees from Ukraine, including dozens of children, camp overnight at a train station in neighbouring Poland where reception centres are being hastily set up.
Zelensky says at least 137 Ukrainian "heroes" were killed after the first day of fighting and 317 wounded, as he calls up conscripts and reservists nationwide.
