181 Ghanaian nationals have been evacuated from Ukraine as of the midday of March 8 with 88 of them transited through Romania, Hungary and Poland.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, there have been reports of some Ghanaians refusing evacuation after the government has purchased tickets and paid for their COVID-19 test because they had previously expressed willingness to be evacuated.

In view of this, the Ministry is “therefore entreating only Ghanaians who are willing to be evacuated to confirm their participation, so as to avoid the dissipation of scarce public funds.”

“In the case of those who refuse to be assisted to return home, the Government of Ghana’s obligations towards them ceases after they have been provided with 2 nights’ hotel accommodation,” portions of the statement read.

The statement noted that government will only bear the cost of two nights’ hotel accommodation for Ghanaians who have expressed interest to be evacuated and are received by the Ministry’s staff and representatives in neighbouring countries of Ukraine.

It added that about 70% of Ghanaian nationals who were stranded in Sumy have commenced their journey to Myrhorod for onward transfer to neighbouring countries.

The Ministry further expressed gratitude to the various National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) branches and other bodies who have contributed to the evacuation of Ghanaian nationals from Ukraine.

Two batches have already arrived in Accra since last week. Twenty-four Ghanaians arrived as part of the second batch on Friday morning.

These persons were rescued through Poland by land due to the shutdown of Ukraine’s airspace since the beginning of the unrest in the country.