Diego Moncayothe last Ecuadorian who was in one of the conflict zones of the war in Ukraineis already safe in Ecuadorian territory thanks to an operation that involved international organizations.
“The last Foreign Ministry contingent that traveled from Quito to the border area with Ukraine arrived, and with them Diego Moncayo, an Ecuadorian who managed to leave Shotska. Thank you for his immense work and his commitment to our compatriots. Mission accomplished”, Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguín wrote.
Diego Moncayo returned from Poland ???????? to Ecuador ????????: https://t.co/PnINWmJwyY
the deputy minister @LuisVayasEc and his team arrived with Diego Moncayo, the last critical case handled by the Foreign Ministry together with the International Red Cross.#TogetherSafe pic.twitter.com/AZ4T92YWD1
– Foreign Ministry of Ecuador ???????? (@CancilleriaEc) March 21, 2022
The Vice Minister of Human Mobility, Luis Vayas, recognized the work of the Ecuadorians who helped others to get out of the conflict and also expressed his gratitude to each of the officials who made it possible to rescue compatriots who were in Ukraine.
“The compatriots who fled the conflict are the real heroes. I also thank the Foreign Ministry officials who were at the different points receiving the Ecuadorians who crossed the border”commented the authority.
The plane that brings compatriot Diego Moncayo and the team from @CancilleriaEc who provided assistance in the conflict zone.
Welcome! ????????????#TogetherSafe pic.twitter.com/n7qPQ4aQ2u
– Foreign Ministry of Ecuador ???????? (@CancilleriaEc) March 21, 2022
Moncayo’s case was one of the most sensitive and delicate, since he was a refugee in the city of Shostka, near the Ukraine-Russia border, the epicenter of the conflict.
He had arrived there by mistake, getting the wrong train when he wanted to escape from kyiv during the first bombardments of the Ukrainian capital but, instead of going west, it went east, ending up in the city of Sumy.
© Provided by Metro
With no possibility of turning back, he ended up taking refuge in a friend’s house in Shostka, which is also in the Sumy oblast (region), where he patiently waited for an evacuation that finally took place on Wednesday after several frustrated attempts due to the lack of sufficient safety conditions.
Its extraction from that critical point was carried out by the International Red Cross, who escorted him in one of his vehicles to the city of Poltava, where he took a train to the Ukrainian-Polish border.
© Provided by Metro
Of the Latin American countries, the Ecuadorian community residing in Ukraine was the largest before the beginning of the invasion, registering approximately 850 Ecuadorians, most of them students who have already returned to the country, although there is a small group that has preferred to stay despite the war.
According to the Foreign Ministry, A total of 716 people who fled Ukraine have managed to reach Ecuador on the three humanitarian flights organized by the Foreign Ministryas well as on a flight chartered by the migrants themselves.
In all, Ecuador has facilitated the return of 657 Ecuadorians43 people of Ukrainian nationality, eleven Colombians, one Peruvian, one Egyptian and one Belarusian.
It also reported that 106 Ecuadorians who fled Ukraine have decided to stay at their own risk in Poland, 30 in Hungary, 17 in Slovakia, 13 in Romania, 4 in Moldova and 16 in Russia, as well as 14 in Spain, 9 in Turkey and 5 in Germany.