Six members of the Greek diaspora dead after attacks in Ukraine; Russian Embassy statement

A total of six members of the Greek communities in Ukraine died during attacks on Saturday, and at least six were injured, including a child, the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, two Greek expatriates died and six were injured during bombing by Russian aircraft in the region of the Sartana village. Later on Saturday, it was reported that another four Greek expatriates had died in bombardments in the village of Burgas, nearly 70km north of Mariupol.

It was also announced that Foreign Ministry Secretary General Themistocles Demiris conveyed by phone a strong protest to the Russian ambassador in Athens, and summoned him to the ministry on Sunday. The protest was made following the order of Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias.

Dendias had raised the issue of the protection of the Greek community in Ukraine, during a recent meeting with his Russian counterpart.

In his own message on Twitter, the minister expressed grief and abhorrence for the attacks on civilians.

Similar messages were issued by Alternate Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis – who also said that “Russia ought to understand even at this point that this war will only have losers, particularly innocent victims” – and Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Katsaniotis.

Russian Embassy in Athens

The Russian Embassy in Athens expressed its deep grief over the death and injury of Greek community members in the region of Donbas on Saturday, adding that “Russia’s special military operations in Ukraine only target military units and infrastructure exclusively.”

“We do not bomb inhabited areas and villages, nor any political or social infrastructure. The Russian Air and Space Forces were not operating in the region of the Sartana village today,” it said in a statement. It added, “the Ukrainian army and nationalist neo-Nazi orders have been known for years to attack civilians, even with heavy weapons. This is proven and officially documented.”

The embassy warned that “the Kiev regime is possibly using the Greek and other ethnic minorities living in Ukraine to provoke and inflame the anti-Russian reaction abroad.”