Foreign Minister Reveals 133 Indonesian Citizens Have Left Ukraine

JAKARTA - Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said, out of a total of 165 Indonesian citizens (WNI) living in Ukraine, 133 people have left safely.

"We are grateful that as of today all Indonesian citizens who want to be evacuated (from Ukraine) are safely in Indonesia. Of the total 165 Indonesian citizens, 133 have left Ukraine," said Retno during the Commission I Working Meeting (Raker) of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Wednesday, April 6.

He explained, that 133 Indonesian citizens consisting of 80 people were evacuated using an evacuation plane, five people were evacuated to Bucharest but chose to return to residency countries such as Russia, Turkey, Denmark, and Qatar.

In addition, according to him, 34 Indonesian citizens were evacuated through a follow-up evacuation wave, 12 people evacuated independently to various countries, and two people did not report but were already in Indonesia.

"Meanwhile, 32 Indonesian citizens have chosen to stay in Ukraine, consisting of 23 for personal reasons and the rest are staff of the Indonesian Embassy (Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia)," he said.

Retno said that the battlefield in Ukraine was very difficult to evacuate from the country. He gave an example to evacuate nine Indonesian citizens from Chernihiv it took 22 days but went well because of the cooperation with ministries/agencies and the support of Indonesian citizens.

The working meeting of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) Commission I was led by the Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian DPR Commission I, Abdul Kharis Almasyhari. The working meeting will discuss three points, namely first, the realization and evaluation of the implementation of the 2021 FY State Budget; second, the protection of Indonesian citizens and BHI in Ukraine.

Third, Indonesia's diplomacy related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict; and fourth, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' explanation regarding the Special Procedures Mandate Holders (SPMH) regarding a number of cases of alleged enforced disappearances, excessive use of force, torture, and forced displacement in the provinces of Papua and West Papua.

There are still 32 Indonesian citizens remaining in Ukraine. The details are, 23 Indonesian citizens are married to Ukrainian citizens, and 9 essential staff of the Indonesian Embassy in Kyiv.