Italy recommends citizens to leave Russia

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs this Thursday recommended that its citizens in Russia leave the country if their stay is not necessary due to international tensions and problems with air traffic.

“Given the recent evolution of the international context and the increasing difficulties with air and land connections to leave Russia, it is recommended that citizens who are in Russia assess the need for their stay and, if not, leave the country,” the statement said. from the Italian Embassy in Moscow.

In Rome, it is believed that “gradually” moving from Russia to Italy and other countries will be increasingly difficult in the context of tensions and sanctions against this country as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

Similarly, there has been a “dizzying rise” in airfare in recent days, and there have been long lines of cars leaving the country across land borders.

The European Union has closed its airspace to flights from Russia since February 27, and the Italian embassy in Moscow advised Italians to plan any travel from that country well in advance.

The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine has already caused the flight of more than 13 million people – more than six million internally displaced people and more than 7.4 million to countries in Europe – according to the latest UN figures, in which this refugee crisis is as the worst in Europe since during the Second World War (1939-1945).

The Russian invasion, justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security, was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.

The UN presented 5,996 civilian deaths and 8,848 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, stressing that these figures are much lower than the real ones.