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DFA: 141 Filipinos still in Ukraine; 45 refuse to leave Kyiv

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Davinci Maru, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Aftermath of an overnight shelling on Ukrainian military facilities in Brovary near Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine, March 1, 2022. Russian troops entered Ukraine on Feb. 24, prompting the country" s="" president="" to="" declare="" martial="" law="" and="" triggering="" a="" series="" of="" announcements="" by="" Western="" countries="" impose="" severe="" economic="" sanctions="" on="" Russia.="" Sergey="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tvpatrol/03/02/kyiv.jpg"/><figcaption>Aftermath of an overnight shelling on Ukrainian military facilities in Brovary near Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine, March 1, 2022. Russian troops entered Ukraine on Feb. 24, prompting the country&#x27;s president to declare martial law and triggering a series of announcements by Western countries to impose severe economic sanctions on Russia. <em>Sergey Dolzhenko, EPA-EFE</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATE)</strong>—There are still 141 Filipinos in Ukraine amid Russia&#x27;s continuing assault of the former Soviet republic, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.</p><p>Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Sarah Lou Arriola said 45 of them refused to leave the capital Kyiv, a city of 2.8 million.</p><p>&quot;As of now, meron kaming nakikitang 141 pa na nasa loob pa ng Ukraine. May 45 pa po sa Kyiv. &#x27;Yun po &#x27;yung talagang ayaw pang lumikas,&quot; she told TeleRadyo.</p><p>Of the figure, 15 Filipinos are staying in Lviv, close to the Polish border, while 55 others have fled near the border of Hungary, Arriola said.</p><p>Meanwhile, 87 Filipino seafarers are docked in ports of Ukraine, she added.</p><p>&quot;Medyo kalat-kalat po sila ngayon pero marami na rin po &#x27;yung nakatawid,&quot; she said.</p><p>Arriola said 40 Filipinos in Ukraine had already fled to European neighbors—27 in Moldova, 9 in Austria and 4 in Romania.</p><p>As some Filipinos refused to leave Ukraine, the Philippine government gave them $200 worth of financial assistance.</p><p>&quot;Dun po sa mga nasa Lviv po, meron na pong 17 na nabigyan. Kasi &#x27;yun po &#x27;yung mga &#x27;yun, ayaw po talaga nilang lumikas. Humiwalay na po sila sa embassy,&quot; Arriola said.</p><p>&quot;We just gave them financial assistance. We&#x27;re giving more because marami ang hesitant kasi &#x27;yung iba po married po talaga sa Ukraine.&quot;</p><p>To date, 19 Filipinos so far have returned to the Philippines. Thirteen of them, including 3 students, arrived from Warsaw, Poland on Tuesday night.</p><p>The group was part of evacuees who left Kyiv for Lviv and was welcomed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr at the Poland border.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1949130" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><div><strong>OFW STAYS PUT IN UKRAINE</strong></div><p>An overseas Filipino worker said Wednesday she had no plans of leaving Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.</p><p>&quot;Opo kasi &#x27;yan ang pinag-uusapan namin that time, na kung saan daw sila pupunta ay kasama po ako,&quot; Joy Tolentino, who works as a nanny for a Ukrainian family, told TeleRadyo.</p><p>She and her employer are currently staying in the western town of Ivano-Frankivsk. They left Kyiv when Russian forces assaulted the capital.</p><p>&quot;Wala din po [akong balak bumalik ng Pilipinas] kasi kasama ko naman sila,&quot; she added.</p><p>Tolentino, who hails from Isabela, Negros Occidental, said her employer were assisting fellow Ukrainians who fled Kyiv.</p><p>They may move to the hinterlands of Ivano-Frankivsk, which is close to the border of Romania, to escape from air raids and bombardment seen in major cities in Ukraine.</p><p>The International Criminal Court has already opened a war crimes investigation against Russia. Ukraine says more than 350 civilians, including 14 children, have been killed in the conflict.</p><p>More than 660,000 people have fled abroad, the UN refugee agency said, estimating that a million people are displaced within ex-Soviet Ukraine, which has a population of 44 million.</p><p>Russia has defied international bans, boycotts and sanctions to press ahead with an offensive it says is aimed at defending Ukraine&#x27;s Russian speakers and toppling the leadership.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe __idm_id__="14270465" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1948995" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><div><strong>—With a report from Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

There are still 141 Filipinos in Ukraine amid Russia's continuing assault of the former Soviet republic, the DFA said Wednesday.

DFA: 141 Filipinos still in Ukraine; 45 refuse to leave Kyiv

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DFA: 141 Filipinos still in Ukraine; 45 refuse to leave Kyiv

Davinci Maru,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 02, 2022 10:40 AM PHT

|

Updated Mar 02, 2022 01:13 PM PHT

Read More:

ANC

Ukraine

Kyiv

Lviv

DFA

Department of Foreign Affairs

Sarah Lou Arriola

OFW

overseas Filipino worker

repatriation

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