Warsaw repatriates nearly 200 ethnic Poles from Ukraine
The group should be able to return to Poland in "the coming days"
WARSAW (AFP) - Poland s foreign ministry said Sunday it was repatriating nearly 200 Polish nationals from separatist regions of Ukraine in the grip of an armed conflict.
"The evacuation of these people from the Donetsk region has entered its decisive phase," said Konrad Pawlik, the deputy foreign minister.
The repatriation concerns ethnic Poles, mostly families with children living in areas controlled by pro-Russian separatists, according to Warsaw.
"The convoy has been protected by the Ukrainian army. All these people are now in a hotel in Kharkiv. We are in the process of preparing the necessary travel documents," Pawlik said.
The group should be able to return to Poland in "the coming days" but the details will not be made public for security reasons, he added.
A September 5 truce was meant to calm a pro-Russian mutiny in eastern Ukraine in which more than 4,700 people have now lost their lives.
In a fresh upsurge in violence, however, two Ukrainian soldiers were killed there and 20 wounded in the previous 24 hours, military authorities said Saturday.
