President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (C) listens to a report on the protection of Vietnamese citizens in Ukraine. (Photo: vov.vn)

Mr. Phuc made the request after listening to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies report on the status of Vietnamese citizens in Ukraine.

“The guiding spirit of the Party, State, and the Party Secretariat is to ensure that no Vietnamese people in combat zones are killed or injured. They must not be left hungry or cold during the evacuation. The protection of Vietnamese citizens should be given special attention,” said President Phuc.

He asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with other ministries and sectors in implementing the directives of the Government and Prime Minister on citizen protection.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Ukraine Nguyen Hong Thach reported online to the President that the Embassy is supporting and evacuating all overseas Vietnamese who wish to leave the combat zone. Some Vietnamese want to stay to look after their property in Kharkiv and Odessa, the two Ukrainian cities with the largest Vietnamese population. Others have already been evacuated to rural areas in Ukraine, according to Mr. Thach.

To deal with Ukraine issues the Government has established a special working group led by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh. There are 7,000 Vietnamese living in Ukraine. More than 400 have been evacuated to Romania and more than 1,000 to Poland. Most of them want to return home. On Tuesday and Wednesday, they will board flights organized by the government to return to Vietnam.