434 Filipinos out of Ukraine

More than 430 Filipinos are now out of war-stricken Ukraine, with 394 repatriated and 40 evacuated and awaiting repatriation.

As of March 29, a total of 434 Filipinos have been taken out of Ukraine.

Among the latest batch of repatriates were 30 seafarers from MV Ithaca Prospect, MV Filia Joy, and MV Nord Virgo, who arrived in the Philippines in three separate occasions.

These seafarers were evacuated from Ukraine via Moldova through the efforts of the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Chisinau and the Philippine Embassy in Budapest, Hungary.

Philippine Ambassador to Budapest Frank Cimafranca stated that the evacuation of seafarers was challenging due to heavy fighting and the need for them to disembark ships via small boats.

To date, more than 350 seafarers have been safely repatriated.

The DFA raised Alert Level 4 in Ukraine on March 7 due to the deteriorating security situation.