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Ten Bangladeshi nationals are trapped in the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Sumy as Russia continues its offensive in the Eastern European nation.
Two Bangladeshis are stuck in Mariupol and eight in Sumi, said Bangladesh’s ambassador to Poland Sultana Laila Hossain, reports bdnews24.com.
“As you know, the situation there is very difficult,” she said. “We are doing all we can to get these 10 Bangladeshis out of these two cities.”
Russia declared a ceasefire in the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha to allow the opening of humanitarian corridors and to allow civilians to leave at 10 am Moscow time.
Mariupol is a southeastern city in Ukraine.
On the other side of the country, in the northeast, lies the city of Sumy. Media reports spoke of blasts and detonations in the city on Thursday. The city, where eight Bangladeshis are trapped, is nearly 1,000 kilometres from the western border of the country.
The 28 still alive on the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation vessel MV Banglar Samriddhi are in Ukraine, but have set course for home.
The vessel arrived in Ukraine on Feb 22. Russia invaded the country on Feb 24. A rocket attack struck the vessel on Wednesday local time, killing one of the crew – Third Engineer Md Hadisur Rahman.
The remaining sailors and engineers left the vessel, declaring it abandoned.
They then took refuge in a shelter house bunker, according to the families. According to ambassador Sultana Laila Hossain, they were there until Friday night.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam had, at first, suggested bringing the 28 on board the ship to Poland, but the crew members were later informed about a change of plans.
Masud Bin Momen, secretary of foreign affairs, said that the crew would first be taken to Romania through Moldova. The Moldovan border is nearly 200 kilometres from the Ukrainian port of Olvia, where the ship was stranded.