![Refugees from Ukraine as seen at the border crossing in Medyka, eastern Poland, on February 28. Overall, more than half a million people have fled Ukraine since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion on February 24. [Rojtek Radwanski/AFP]](/cnmi_am/images/2022/03/01/34227-ukrine-refugees-poland-700_496.webp)
Amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the closure of Ukrainian airspace to civilian traffic, evacuees are being forced to make harrowing escapes through the war zone to board repatriation flights in neighbouring countries.
Many of those seeking to escape the Russian onslaught hail from the Middle East, including an unspecified number of Iranians.
Iran's state media on Tuesday (March 1) announced that a first repatriation flight carrying its nationals fleeing Ukraine had landed in Tehran from Poland.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said "most Iranians who have chosen to leave Ukraine have been evacuated by Iran and there are a small number who intend to leave whom Iran hasn't been able to evacuate yet".
But he did not provide numbers, and offered no further details.
Observers noted that Iran has downplayed the evacuation of its citizens from Ukraine, given that Russia is one of its few -- and key -- allies and supporters.
Both Russia and Iran intervened in Syria in support of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, though friction has begun to emerge between them as a result of their different agendas -- and struggle for power and resources.
Evacuation of Arab students
More than 12,000 Arab students attend university in Ukraine.
Among Arab countries, Morocco has the most students in Ukraine, with about 8,000 enrolled in universities, followed by Egypt with more than 3,000.
More than 1,200 Egyptian students have arrived in Poland and 250 others have reached Romania from Ukraine, Egypt's Ahram Online reported Monday.
There were about 6,000 Egyptians living in Ukraine prior to the invasion, including students, according to Ahram Online.
Minister of Emigration and Expatriate Affairs Nabila Makram said Egyptian students living in the western cities of Ukraine have an easier time moving to Romania, Poland and Hungary than do students in eastern cities.
The eastern city of Kharkiv, known for its universities, is under heavy attack. Its town square and local administration building came under Russian shelling on Tuesday, with at least 10 civilians killed and many more injured.
Makram said the ministry has not recorded any deaths of Egyptian students but added that an Egyptian citizen married to a Ukrainian woman had been shot.
According to Ali Chreim, who heads the Lebanese expat community in Ukraine, 1,300 Lebanese students were studying in the country before the Russian invasion, Lebanon's Naharnet reported.
Half managed to flee by their own means, but the rest are stuck, he said.
Arab nationals flee Ukraine
Jordan's foreign ministry on Monday reported that embassy staff have facilitated transit and entry procedures for 310 Jordanians at border crossings between Ukraine and its neighbours, the Jordan Times reported
The Jordanians crossed through Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova, the Jordanian news agency, Petra, reported.
A total of 19 Jordanians have arrived home so far from Ukraine through Budapest and Bucharest, the ministry said.
The ministry said it is continuing to follow up on the conditions of Jordanians in Ukraine, and to provide them with all forms of assistance and support to ensure their safety to facilitate their return to the kingdom.
At a Sunday press conference, the Ukrainian embassy in Cairo said it was co-ordinating with the Egyptian embassy in Kyiv regarding the return of Egyptians.
On Saturday, Makram said a group of 1,000 Egyptian expats were on their way to Bucharest, while a group of 80 had arrived on the Ukrainian-Polish border.
Egyptian citizens in Ukraine's southern city of Odessa can return to Egypt through Romania, while those in western Ukrainian cities should head to the Polish border, the Egyptian embassy in Kyiv said Friday.
But the embassy advised citizens in Kyiv or eastern cities to stay at home or in shelters currently.
On Monday, Lebanon said it would cover the expenses of the evacuation of Lebanese nationals trapped in Ukraine, Naharnet reported.
Planes will be sent to neighbouring Poland starting March 4, said Higher Relief Committee secretary general Mohamed Kheir.
Kheir said he is proud of the Lebanese community in Ukraine.
"I have contacted them and found they have organised themselves, and some of them have managed to reach Poland," he said.
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi has assigned a specialised team to evacuate Lebanese citizens, in co-ordination with the Red Cross in Lebanon and Ukraine.
Lebanese Ambassador to Ukraine Ali Daher has said that 300 Lebanese have already left Ukraine, heading for nearby countries.
More than 660,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries since Russia launched its invasion last week, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday.
That includes hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, mostly women and children, as well as third country nationals.
