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At Least 10 Greeks Killed in Russian Attacks at Mariupol, Ukraine

Mariupol Ukraine Greeks
Greece two members of its diaspora were killed in a Russian bombardment near Mariupol. Video screenshot

Greece announced on Saturday that 10 members of the Greek community near Mariupol Ukraine have been killed by Russian fire in three separate incidents on Saturday.

Six expatriates were killed in the village of Sartana on the outskirts of Mariupol in two separate attacks. The village of Sartana is located on the banks of river Kalmius in Donetsk oblast, Ukraine. It’s administratively a part of the Kalmiuskyi Raion of the city of Mariupol.

Four more Greeks were killed in the village of Buhas, north of Mariupol.

The fatalities occurred as Russian forces are advancing in Ukraine’s southern front against Mariupol.

The Greek Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing its horror at the incident:

By order of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, the General Secretary, Themistoklis Demiris, made a strong protest by telephone to the Russian Ambassador in Athens and summoned him to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry sid and added:.

“It is recalled that the Minister of Foreign Affairs had urged his Russian counterpart, during their recent meeting, of the need to protect the Greek community.”

 

The Russian Embassy in Athens expressed its deep grief over the death and injury of Greek community members in the region of Donbas on Saturday, adding that “Russia’s special military operations in Ukraine only target military units and infrastructure exclusively.”

“We do not bomb inhabited areas and villages, nor any political or social infrastructure. The Russian Air and Space Forces were not operating in the region of the Sartana village today,” it said in a statement. It added, “the Ukrainian army and nationalist neo-Nazi orders have been known for years to attack civilians, even with heavy weapons. This is proven and officially documented.”

The embassy warned that “the Kyiv regime is possibly using the Greek and other ethnic minorities living in Ukraine to provoke and inflame the anti-Russian reaction abroad.”

Rockets hit the epicenter of the Greek community in Ukraine

A residential area of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine was also hit by shelling on Thursday as residents worried that Russian forces will try to take the strategic port city.

There are more than 100,000 Greeks living in the wider region of the Ukrainian city.

On Friday Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Greece is ready to “warmly welcome” members of the Greek community in Ukraine and Mariupol, in particular, should they want to leave.

“Greece will stand by the Greek communities in Ukraine and especially that in Mariupol. If there are Greeks who want to leave Ukraine we will warmly welcome them,”  he said.
Earlier in February, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged its citizens to leave Ukraine amid fears of a Russian invasion, joining many nations around the globe that have already withdrawn citizens and diplomatic staff.

Greece expresses full support to Ukraine’s President Zelensky

Earlier on Saturday Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke by telephone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to express Greece’s full support.

Government sources said that Mitsotakis expressed Greece’s support for stricter European Union sanctions on Russia, and said he was prepared to provide help to Ukraine in any sectors it requests. He also mentioned that the Greek Consulates General in Odessa and Mariupol continue to operate.

The sources said Zelensky thanked Mitsotakis for Greece’s stance and his personal one on behalf of Ukraine and called for continued support within the EU framework.

The Ministry of Health is preparing shipment of medical supplies, it was made known.

 

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