Gov’t prepares to withdraw Brazilians from Ukraine
Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Relations reported today (Feb. 24) it is devising an evacuation plan for Brazilians in Ukraine. Russian military forces launched an invasion into the eastern European country overnight. The Brazilian community in the country is estimated to total around 500 people.
No date or place have been disclosed for the withdrawal. As the airspace is closed, the evacuation should be conducted exclusively by land.
“Where and when Brazilians will be called to convene for the purposes of evacuation will be widely publicized by the embassy through its communication channels with the Brazilian community. It is therefore vital that everyone register,” Ambassador Leonardo Gorgulho declared at a presser in Brasília.
The Brazilian consular service is renewing the registration of Brazilians in Ukraine. Contact can be established directly through the website of the Brazilian embassy in Kiev, through its Facebook page and in a group chat on smartphone app Telegram. Thus far, approximately 160 Brazilian nations have updated their registration.
The withdrawal of Brazilians should depend on criteria still under consideration, such as route safety, the availability of transport, and how people may find the meeting points.
The evacuation to be organized by Brazil will also be open to citizens of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay, Gorgulho went on to declare. Nationals from these countries are required to follow the same guidelines as Brazilians.
Guidelines
The Brazilian Foreign Ministry is asking Brazilians in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, to stay at home as recommended by the authorities in the European country.
Brazilians in the East of the country are advised to leave the region immediately by their own means. Train services, the Brazilian government pointed out, are still operational.
Those in Odessa, southern Ukraine, must cross the border with nearby Moldova. For the same reason, Brazilian citizens in Lviv, in the west, are advised to go to Poland.
The ministry also recommended that people avoid moving around outside curfew hours, as set by the Ukrainian government, and take shelter in places far from military areas as well as from energy and communications structures.
The Brazilian embassies in Warsaw (Poland), Minsk (Belarus), Bucharest (Romania), Bratislava (Slovakia), and Moscow (Russia) are said to be operating on call to address the needs of Brazilian citizens arriving in these countries from Ukraine.
Statements
On his social media, President Jair Bolsonaro underscored the official guidelines on registration and contact.
“I am fully committed to the effort of protecting and assisting Brazilians in Ukraine,” the president wrote.
Earlier, in an official note, the Foreign Ministry expressed its stance on the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, with an appeal for an immediate ceasefire.
“Brazil appeals for the immediate suspension of hostilities and the beginning of negotiations leading to a diplomatic solution founded on the Minsk Agreements, taking into account the legitimate security interests of all parties involved as well as the protection of civilians,” the note reads.
The statement also stresses the need for an answer to the clash supported by international law, observing the territorial integrity of sovereign countries.
“As a member of the United Nations Security Council, Brazil remains engaged in multilateral discussions with a view to a peaceful solution, in line with the Brazilian diplomatic tradition and in defense of solutions founded on both the Charter of the United Nations and international law, especially with concern to the principles of non-intervention, sovereignty, and the territorial integrity of states and the peaceful settlement of disputes.”
