adds Air France and Lufthansa
PARIS (awp/afp) – France now recommends that all its nationals leave Ukraine and calls on those in the areas most exposed to the risk of war in the east of the country to leave “without delay” .
“It is recommended that all French nationals whose stay in Ukraine has no compelling reason to leave the country”, underlines French diplomacy in its travel advice updated on Saturday.
So far, the French Foreign Ministry has only advised to “defer all trips to Ukraine”.
The French being “in the oblasts [divisions administratives, ndlr] Kharkiv, Lugansk and Donetsk” as well as in the Dnipro region, near Russia, are “called upon to leave these areas without delay”, insists the Quai d’Orsay.
Due to the “tensions created by the concentration of Russian troops on the borders of Ukraine” and “the resurgence of ceasefire violations” in pro-Russian separatist areas, it is also recommended “not to travel to the border areas in the north and east of the country”.
Germany, for its part, called on its nationals to leave Ukraine “urgently” and warned “against any movement” in the country.
The German company Lufthansa has also announced that it is suspending its regular flights to Kiev and Odessa (south) from Monday until the end of February.
“The safety of our passengers and crew members is our top priority,” said a spokesperson, adding that flights remained scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, to allow people who wish to leave the country, and that the company would continue to serve Lviv in western Ukraine.
Air France is maintaining its flights to Ukraine for the time being, according to a spokesperson.
“The next flight to Kiev is scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday) at 9:40 a.m. We are monitoring the situation closely, of course, but for the moment the flight is maintained,” he told AFP. Another direct flight is scheduled for Tuesday.
The Ukrainian government said on Saturday it was “preparing for all possible scenarios”, while the United States said it was convinced that Russia wanted to invade Ukraine imminently.
French President Emmanuel Macron is due to speak on the phone Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Paris time (10:00 GMT) with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to try “again to avoid the worst”, said the Elysée. He is also due to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.
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