Embassy in Poland preparing to shelter Bangladeshis wanting to leave Ukraine

Bangladesh Embassy in Poland is preparing to receive Bangladeshi expatriates desperately wanting to move to Poland as Russia began attacking Ukraine this morning.

"We have requested the Polish authorities to grant visas to Bangladeshis as they said traveling to Poland would require visas. We also asked our people in Ukraine to get visas at the soonest," Bangladesh Ambassador to Poland, Sultana Laila, told The Daily Star today.

She said the embassy would also provide travel permits to those who don't have passports on an urgent basis.

"We have had talks with our finance and expatriates' welfare ministries that sheltering the Bangladeshis coming from Ukraine would require funding. Besides, we also had talks with the Bangladesh community in Poland on this matter to tackle the emergency situation," Sultana Laila said.

According to her, some 1,500 to 2,000 Bangladeshis live in Ukraine, and most of them are students. The embassy has been advising them to move to safe places, if not out of Ukraine.

"We are in touch, through email and WhatsApp, with about 500 Bangladeshis. We are also asking others to join these groups and updating the information instantly so that we can take right decision in the right time," she said.

The ambassador said the embassy held a meeting with the Bangladeshis in Ukraine last night and gave necessary instructions, instead of being panicked.