Greece said on Friday it is ready to “warmly welcome” members of the Greek community in Ukraine and Mariupol, in particular, should they want to leave.
“Greece will stand by the Greek communities in Ukraine and especially that in Mariupol. If there are Greeks who want to leave Ukraine we will warmly welcome them,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
Rockets hit the epicenter of the Greek community in Ukraine
A residential area of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine was hit by shelling on Thursday as residents worried that Russian forces will try to take the strategic port city.
There are more than 100,000 Greeks living in the wider region of the Ukrainian city. Amateur footage shared on Twitter shows that rockets have hit installations at Mariupol as Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine.
Earlier in February, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged its citizens to leave Ukraine amid fears of a Russian invasion, joining many nations around the globe that have already withdrawn citizens and diplomatic staff.