Ukrainian MFA receives no information from Russia on Russian diplomats' evacuation from Ukraine – spokesperson
The Russian side has not informed the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry that it is evacuating personnel of its diplomatic missions from Ukraine, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
"The Foreign Ministry has not received any information from the Russian side about any evacuation of personnel of the Russian Federation's diplomatic missions from Ukraine. The embassies of other countries in Ukraine have not announced any plans to evacuate their personnel either," Nikolenko said.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also has no immediate plans to evacuate Ukrainian diplomats from Russia, he said.
"The [Ukrainian] embassy in Moscow, the Consulates General in St. Petersburg and Rostov-on-Don and the consulates in Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk are functioning as usual. Despite the challenging conditions, our diplomats and consuls are continuing to successfully fulfil their tasks, above all protecting the interests of Ukrainian citizens in Russia," Nikolenko said.
The New York Times said earlier, citing a high-ranking official of Ukraine's Security Service, that Russia began evacuating the families of its diplomats from Ukraine in early January.
According to the newspaper, 18 people, mostly the children and wives of Russian diplomats, boarded buses and embarked on a drive home to Moscow on January 5. Another 30 people left Kyiv and Lviv over the next few days. Diplomats at two other Russian consulates have been told to prepare to leave Ukraine, The New York Times said.