By Gokhan Balci
EDIRNE, Turkey (AA) - Turkish nationals who lived in Ukraine continue to return home as the Russia-Ukraine war is on its tenth day.
In addition to Turkish citizens who were evacuated from the war-torn country by Turkiye’s Foreign Ministry, Ukrainians enter the country through the border gates in western Edirne province.
Living in the Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi Turhan Erim, one of the Turkish citizens, returned home after fleeing the war.
Erim voiced his happiness to reach the homeland after a 30-hour journey.
Stating that people in Ukraine are victims of war, Erim emphasized that there are major problems in the food supply chain.
Ukrainian people are struggling to defend their homeland, Erim said, adding, "The people are fighting with the means at their disposal. What happens to them today could happen to us tomorrow. All of them are preparing to fight like soldiers, and they are fighting. I appreciate it."
Also, Azerbaijani Ayhan Huseyinov said that he escaped from the city of Kharkiv, where he lived, and came to Turkiye by bus. "It is sad to see something like this in 2022."
"People, children are fired on, children… As a result of the fire, a child died in the car, we saw him for our eyes. I took my bag, came and saved my life. I thank both the Turkish and Azerbaijani consulates."
Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the EU, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.
More than a million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to UN Refugee Agency.
In the second round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv, the two sides agreed on creating humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians.
*Writing by Seda Sevencan in Istanbul