PH monitors Pinoys in Ukraine after Putin martial law declaration

The agency has repatriated about 400 out of the more than 450 overseas Filipinos in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022. (Pexels photo)

MANILA – The Philippine government is constantly monitoring the condition of the 25 accounted Filipinos in Ukraine after Russia declared martial law in four Ukrainian regions it claimed to have annexed.

Manila said it also stands ready to repatriate the remaining Filipinos should they request assistance for an immediate return to the country.

“Following Russia’s declaration of martial law in Ukrainian regions, our Philippine Embassy in Warsaw, Poland and our Honorary Consulate General in Kyiv, Ukraine are constantly monitoring the conditions and circumstances of Filipino nationals who remain in Ukraine,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

“The Philippine Embassy in Warsaw and the Honorary Consulate General in Kyiv have accounted for 25 Filipino nationals in Ukraine, mostly residing in Kyiv, and none from the regions where martial law was declared,” it added.

The agency has repatriated about 400 out of the more than 450 overseas Filipinos in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday declared martial law in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk, which were the subject of Moscow’s so-called referendums in September 2022.

The referendums had been described by the United Nations as illegal, saying it does not form the basis for any alteration of the status of the Ukrainian regions.

On Oct. 12, the Philippines joined 142 other countries in favoring a UN resolution that rejected the referendum’s results and condemned Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of the four Ukrainian regions.