Jordan tries to evacuate hundreds of trapped citizens, as Russia's onslaught on Ukraine intensifies

Jordan's foreign ministry announced on Monday it was still working to evacuate hundreds of its citizens who have fled Ukraine for neighbouring countries, following Russia's devastating offensive on the country.

Jordanian Abdul Razzaq Al-Khalidi told The New Arab’s sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that he arrived in Slovakia from the Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod on Monday.

"We received information about injuries among Arab citizens, but we did not report injuries among students or Jordanian citizens. The staff at the Jordanian embassy in Ukraine helped us, even after crossing the border into Slovakia," Al-Khalidi said.

Ukraine has been a popular destination for Jordanian and Palestinian students for decades, with many marrying and settling down in the country.

Other Jordanian and Arab nationals are stranded in Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv which has come under an all-out assault by Russian forces using cluster bombs and GRAD missiles.

Several thousand Arabs, many of them students, are trying to escape Ukraine as Russia's invasion entered its sixth day with signs of an all-out assault on the capital Kyiv is imminent.

There are also more than 10,000 Moroccan students in Ukraine, as well as thousands of Egyptians.

A statement by the foreign ministry in Amman said that 136 citizens had been facilitated to cross the border into Romania, 70 into Poland, 56 into Slovakia, 35 into Hungary, and 13 into Moldova.

It added that work was underway to return all Jordanians to Jordan.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Haitham Abu al-Ful told local television channel Al-Mamlaka that there were around 3,500 Jordanians in Ukraine, including 700 to 1,000 who also hold Ukrainian citizenship.