Government has no rescue plan for Brazilians in Ukraine

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “On the existence of a rescue plan, there is none, there is no rescue plan on the part of Brazil or any other country,” said the Foreign Ministry’s Secretary of Communication and Culture Leonardo Gorgulho at a press briefing.

Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine began early Thursday morning, and according to the Brazilian Foreign Ministry there are some 500 Brazilian citizens in the country.

Gorgulho stressed that the government is considering implementing an evacuation plan by land, but no date or meeting points have yet been set.

According to the Foreign Ministry, in a rescue plan, Brazil would send people and equipment to Ukraine to help remove the Brazilians, while in the case of an evacuation plan, no forces would be sent from Brazil and it would be done with the means available there.

For the time being, the Brazilian government’s official directive is that citizens in the eastern part of the country should move to Kiev, and that those in the capital should stay home pending further instructions.

He also stressed that Brazilian embassies in other countries are on duty to assist Brazilians leaving Ukraine on their own, in Warsaw, Minsk, Bratislava and Moscow.