Maraming Pinoy sa Ukraine ang hindi pa nais umalis ng naturang bansa sa harap ng ginagawang pag-atake ng Russia. Ayon sa Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), nagpupunta ang mga Pinoy sa ligtas na lugar at umaasang matatapos din kaagad ang kaguluhan.

Inihayag ito ni DFA Undersecretary Sarah Arriola kasunod ng pagpunta ni Foreign Affairs Secretary  Teodoro Locsin Jr. sa border ng Poland para personal na makita ang ginagawang pagtulong sa mga Pinoy na umaalis ng Ukraine.

"There were 13 Filipinos who were able to cross the border. Twelve adults, one baby. They are now in Warsaw, Poland, in a hotel, being assisted by our embassy. They already took the RT-PCR test and once they test negative, they will be able to go home [to the Philippines] tonight or tomorrow. They were also given $200 assistance," pahayag ni Arriola sa Laging Handa briefing nitong Lunes.

"But we learned there are 33 people who left Kyiv and are in Lyiv, and there are those still leaving Kyiv to go to Lyiv, and they don't want to be repatriated. They want to wait it out [in Lyiv], so we are just in touch with them and stand ready to give assistance as needed. They think this [armed attack] will be over in two to three months," dagdag pa ni Arriola.

Kabilang umano sa mga Filipino na nasa Ukraine ay nagtatrabahong bilang household service workers, mga guro, mga kawani sa international organizations, at mayroon ding nakapag-asawa na ng Ukraine citizens.

"Many of them don't want to be separated with their family members too, and they like the quality of life in Ukraine," anang opisyal.

"So rest assured we stand ready to be of assistance and give care packages to them," dagdag ni Arriola.

Una rito, anim pang Pinoy ang nailikas paalis ng Ukraine at nakapunta sa Moldova.

"The evacuees include a fourth-year medical student at the Bukovinian State Medical University, two Filipino nationals married to Ukrainian nationals (one of whom traveled with her two-year old son), and two Filipinos working for an international organization managed to cross the Moldovan border," ayon sa DFA.

Nagtutulungan ang Philippine Embassy sa Budapest at Philippine Consulate sa Chisinau para maihatid sa Romania ang apat sa anim na Pinoy, at mula doon ay ililipad sila pauwi ng Pilipinas.

Pinayuhan ng DFA ang mga Pinoy na malapit sa border ng Moldova at Romania at na kailangan ng tulong para makauwi ng Pilipinas, na makipag-ugnayan sa Philippine Embassy sa Budapest.

Nauna nang sinabi ng DFA na mayroong 380 Pinoy na nasa Ukraine.— FRJ, GMA News