Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed 15 Maldivian students have returned home after leaving Ukraine.
The foreign ministry stated the students in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, returned to the Maldives on February 28, after spending two days in Hungary where they were taken after Russia launched attacks against Ukraine. They had also spent 10 hours in Dubai, UAE in transit after leaving Hungary.
About 50 Maldivian students had been studying in Ukraine when conflict broke out in the country. All but 12 of the Maldivian students in Ukraine have been repatriated. The foreign ministry stated it is closely monitoring the situation of the 12 remaining students in Ukraine, who are in Kharkiv near the Russian border.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministry is also monitoring the safety of 140 Maldivian students in Grodno State Medical University in Belarus, as they are 1,500 kilometres away from the conflict. The ministry added that calls have been made to students in Russia near the Ukraine border and that they have assured they are safe.