Ukraine will completely shut its borders and stop any passenger transportation before the end of March 27, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“The state border will be closed and all passenger transportation halted before the end of Friday, March 27,” Zelensky said in an address to the nation on March 26.
Zelensky said he had called on Ukrainian citizens to urgently return home two weeks before; most of these people have done so on their own, and over 80,000 others have been evacuated by air, by rail, and by bus.
“However, we can’t wait any longer today. We are facing a difficult choice between our citizens who are still abroad and the safety of 40 million citizens inside the country. Our duty as a state is to take care of every Ukrainian,” Zelensky said.
Ukrainian diplomatic missions and Ukrainian Diasporas abroad will take care about those who are unable to return within the next two days, he said.
“Nobody will forget about a single Ukrainian left outside the country. We will be gradually returning you from abroad, but depending on the epidemical situation at the place of your stay and also depending on the level of provision with the necessary means and the medical system’s preparedness for your mandatory isolation,” he said.
