Vietnamese fleeing Ukraine: Don't know what the future holds

Many Vietnamese in Ukraine shared the same anxiety and surprise when the war broke out in this country.

They expect Russia and Ukraine to soon negotiate to end the fighting.

In the context that the war in Ukraine continues to increase tension, the State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) has just sent an open letter to the Vietnamese Community and Vietnamese Associations in Ukraine. information on supporting the Vietnamese community in Ukraine to evacuate.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has directed representative agencies to coordinate with Vietnamese associations in Poland, Russia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Belarus to find out information for the evacuation process and organize the reception. and support people from Ukraine in case they evacuate to neighboring countries.

According to Zing, living in Ukraine for 15 years, this is the first time Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuyen (52 years old, living in Staritskogo village, Odessa, Ukraine) heard the bomb. After the first explosion, she was still "semi-credible" so she remained silent to let her children and grandchildren sleep. At the second explosion, she worriedly called the whole family to wake up to prepare for evacuation.

Anxiety is the general mood of Vietnamese people in Ukraine. However, in addition to the "hot" military areas, people in many coastal regions of Ukraine still have a relatively peaceful life and are ready to respond to unexpected situations. Many people choose to stay in one place instead of trying to evacuate to places where there is no fighting or return home.

The tense situation between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for many years, and people like Ms. Xuyen have gradually become accustomed to stories in the house and in the street about a war that is very close.

"Before there were no bombs, everyone thought it was just a threat, but I didn't expect the battle to be real. Now I'm very worried," she said.

Entering the second day of war, Ms. Xuyen and the villagers were calmer. People maintain an almost normal lifestyle, only limiting going out to avoid stray bombs and bullets. Her children also temporarily stay at home from work.

According to Ms. Xuyen, the reason for people's peace of mind is that Russia is committed to only hitting key military bases, not attacking civilian areas. Besides, this area is full of Russians, so she feels more secure.

As an international student to Ukraine since 2019, Tien Dat often hears forecasts about Russia's attack on Ukraine, but he did not expect it to happen so quickly. He said the Vietnamese community here has close contact with each other and often exchanges and helps each other when needed.

When the war broke out, Dat didn't have much time to prepare. On the morning of February 24, he just went to the supermarket in the dormitory to buy things, but the line was too crowded, so Dat decided to come back in the afternoon. Despite the rapid increase in demand for goods, he said he did not experience a shortage of goods and still easily bought essentials.

The regional government issued a warning to people not to go out, even preparing to be evacuated for 1-2 days.

"I also think that you should stay in one place and prepare a plan. In some situations, go down to the shelter to evacuate safely," Tien Dat shared with Zing.

Like Ms. Xuyen, Mr. Dat, many other Vietnamese in Ukraine are still constantly worried about the fierce war.

Regarding the situation of citizen protection in Ukraine, the Citizens Protection Working Group, consisting of relevant units of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has coordinated with Vietnamese representative agencies in Ukraine and neighboring countries to continue to work with actively deployed activities to support the evacuation of Vietnamese people in Ukraine from the war zone.

According to the representative agencies, as of the afternoon of March 2 (Hanoi time), basically most of the people in Kyiv and in Odessa, hundreds of people in Kharkiv have been evacuated from the area, have been and are being repatriated. to neighboring countries.

140 people have gone from Ukraine to Poland and are now in Warsaw, 70 people have gone to Romania, about 220 people have gone to Moldova and will be reassigned to Romania, about 30 people have gone to Hungary.

Vietnamese representative agencies support the necessary procedures and documents for people to enter and transit, and coordinate with local authorities and local Vietnamese associations to welcome and arrange accommodation. temporarily, provide essential supplies for people.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and relevant ministries have reported to the Prime Minister the plan to evacuate citizens and will coordinate with airlines to soon organize flights home according to a route suitable to the actual situation.

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