The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is working to protect the interests of Ukrainian citizens who are on the territory of the Russian Federation, in particular about citizens illegally removed from the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian army, said spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko.

"As it is known, there are no Ukrainian diplomatic institutions on the territory of the Russian Federation. On behalf of the President of Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry reached an agreement in principle with Switzerland on the representation of Ukrainian interests in Russia. The choice in favor of Switzerland was made because of its extensive experience in performing such functions and we are grateful to the Swiss government for its willingness to provide its good services," Nikolenko said in a comment published by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

He noted that the modality of Switzerland's representation of Ukraine's interests in the Russian Federation will be determined by a bilateral agreement. At the same time, according to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the host party must provide consent for Switzerland to represent Ukraine's interests in Russia.