An Air Cairo flight departed from Bucharest on Tuesday evening carrying 175 Egyptian students who had fled Ukraine into Romania following the Russian invasion.
The flight reportedly carries 181 passengers and was dispatched following a directive from Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. Members of the Egyptian Red Crescent are also on board to provide any necessary medical aid.
A second group of about 200 Egyptian students was on its way to cross the border between Romania and Ukraine, according to Egyptian Ambassador Moayad El-Dalie.
He added that Egypt’s embassy in Bucharest has already provided students with accommodations at student hostels in the city.
About 6,000 Egyptians lived in Ukraine prior to the Russian invasion last week, including 3,000 students studying medicine at Ukrainian universities.
On Tuesday, the Russian invasion continued for the sixth day, killing scores of people and forcing more than 500,000 to flee their homes, the UN reported.
According to officials, Egypt has not recorded any deaths of Egyptian students; however, one Egyptian citizen has been injured in an airstrike in Kharkiv over the weekend.
In an order to support and care for the injured Egyptian national, the Egyptian embassy in Kyiv has been instructed to provide all of the necessary support and care.
Egypt’s Minister of Emigration and Expatriate Affairs Nabila Makram said on Monday that more than 1,200 Egyptian students had arrived in Poland and 250 others had reached Romania from Ukraine.
Egyptian authorities have urged expats in western Ukrainian cities to move to neighbouring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Authorities, however, have insisted that Egyptians in the capital Kyiv and eastern cities, which are under heavy Russian attack, should stay at home and seek shelter.