• 79 Kenyans, majority of them students, had left Ukraine by Monday.
• At least 122 other Kenyans remain unaccounted for.
Image: CHARLENE MALWA
All Kenyan citizens in Ukraine have been accounted for and marked as safe amid worsening crisis in the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Tuesday.
The ministry said in a statement that 79 Kenyans, a majority of them students, had by Monday left the besieged country and are currently seeking refuge in several foreign countries that border Ukraine.
Ukraine borders seven countries: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Russia, and Belarus.
The Kenyan government negotiated for unrestricted entry of Kenyans into the countries, a request that was honoured by Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania to allow Kenyans to cross their borders via the simplified procedure.
According to the statement, 74 Kenyan students have managed to cross over to Poland and are staying in the cities of Warsaw, Krakovets and Katowice.
Poland shares a border with Ukraine, stretching about 529 kilometres.
The ministry said two other Kenyan students are in Romania, two others are in Hungary and one student had flown back to Kenya.
“So far, four Kenyans have shown no interest in leaving Ukraine citing personal reasons,” the ministry said.
In a previous statement released on February 25, the foreign affairs ministry said 201 Kenyans had been confirmed to be living in the eastern European country. It said 183 of them were students.
With the latest statement confirming the whereabouts of 79 Kenyans, the assumption is that 122 Kenyans could still be stranded in Ukraine as Russia intensifies attacks on the country after conciliatory talks collapsed on Monday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised them to seek help for evacuation.
“Kenya’s Honorary Consul in Kyiv is coordinating the evacuation of Kenyans. Kenyans who are still stranded are encouraged to contact our Honorary Consul on +38 044 229 79 13 or on email at [email protected]," Foreign affairs added.
The release of the statement coincided with a televised address by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, warning that the world should accept the grim reality that the situation in Ukraine will worsen as Russian tightens the vice.
He said Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is a war of aggression on the entire continent that is tearing up every principle of civilized behaviour between states.
“He has hauled his war machine on the people of Ukraine, a fellow Slavic country. He has bombarded civilian targets, fired rockets at blocks of flats. He is responsible for hundreds of civilian casualties including growing numbers of children and the deaths of many Russian and Ukrainian soldiers,” Johnson said.
“If you go by the sheer size and firepower of Vladimir Putin’s war machine, the odds have always been heavily against Ukrainian armed forces,” Johnson added.
He described Russia's invasion of Ukraine as not only a tragedy but a colossal mistake.
More than 350 civilians, including children, have so far been killed since the onset of the invasion on February 21, while more than a half a million people have fled the country.