Algeria temporarily closes Ukraine embassy amid Russian war

By Hassan Jebril

ALGIERS, Algeria (AA) – Algeria has temporarily closed its embassy in Ukraine amid the 11-day-old Russian war on the country.

In a statement, the Algerian Embassy in the capital Kyiv said it has suspended its services due to security conditions in Ukraine.

The embassy urged Algerian nationals in Ukraine to contact their diplomatic missions in neighboring Poland, Hungary, or Romania for any services.

On Thursday, Algeria evacuated 76 nationals, most of them students, from Ukraine through Romania.

Algerian authorities plan to organize three more flights in the coming days to evacuate their nationals from Ukraine through Romania and Poland.

According to the Ukrainian Embassy in Algiers, there are around 1,200 Algerian students in Ukraine, in addition to an unspecified numbers of other Algerians residing there.

Russia's war on Ukraine has been met by outrage from the international community, with the EU, Britain, and US, among others, implementing a range of economic sanctions on Moscow.

According to UN figures, at least 331 civilians have been killed and 675 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24.

More than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the UN refugee agency.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar