Ukrainian climbers can be evacuated from Nepal by Russian plane - Kuleba

Ukrainian climbers who have been stranded in Nepal after climbing Everest due to the coronavirus pandemic can be evacuated from that country by a Russian plane, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.

He said this at an online briefing on Friday, April 3, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"From the remotest countries, our most high-profile story is Nepal where our climbers climbed Mount Everest, descended, and need our assistance. [...] The difficulty with Nepal is that it is a very remote country and it is difficult to build a logistic route," Kuleba said.

At the same time, he said there had been a proposal from Russia's Aeroflot to evacuate Ukrainian citizens from there.

"As far as I know, the Russian consulate needs a formal note from the Ukrainian consulate to take our citizens on board. We are considering all the logistical possibilities to help them," Kuleba said.

He also recalled that on his instructions, embassies and consulates around the world had launched a program to support Ukrainians who were temporarily stranded in various countries around the world due to the rapid spread of the pandemic and the introduction of internal restrictions by countries and the significant complication of international logistics.

Earlier reports said that 13,787 Ukrainian citizens had appealed to foreign diplomatic agencies for assistance in returning to Ukraine, and 8,538 of them insist on the speedy return to their homeland.

op