11:22,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 24, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian community of Ukraine has been prepared for evacuating Armenians from the heated border sections in case of necessity, Kiev-based Ukrainian-Armenian political analyst Marat Hakobyan said in an interview to ARMENPRESS.

“The talk is about the Armenians living in Donetsk and Lugansk. The Armenian community has developed a plan for evacuating our compatriots from the military zone. There is no such need yet. We have specified the routes, transport in advance to evacuate Armenians in case of necessity, but I repeat that as of this moment there is no such request yet”, he said.

He said there are more Armenians in Donetsk, up to 50,000. Mr. Hakobyan also informed that they are in touch with the Armenian Embassy for various issues.

“You know that martial law has been declared in the country. As this is not the first year, the Armenian community knows what to do. All infrastructures in the country are operating, the public transport is working. There is just a lot of traffic in Kiev. Those who are able to reach their destinations do their work. People try not to panic”, he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on Thursday morning that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law in the country.

Reporting by Anna Gziryan