Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) and Foreign Ministry evacuated 179 people from Lebanon on Oct. 1 amid escalating violence in the Middle East, the Foreign Ministry reported.
The evacuation comes after Israel on Oct. 1 launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon as part of its campaign against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. In the days leading up to the incursion, Israel intensified aerial attacks against Lebanon, killing hundreds.
Iran retaliated aganst the incursion with a missile attack against an Israeli air base.
In a statement following Israel's ground invasion, the Foreign Ministry called on all parties "to exercise maximum restraint in order to prevent the conflict from developing into a large-scale regional war."
Ukraine later announced it had successfully evacuated 179 people, including 134 Ukrainian citizens.
"Among the Ukrainians, there are 112 adults and 22 children," the Foreign Ministry said.
"In addition, 45 people of other nationalities were evacuated— citizens of Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Moldova, Brazil and Lebanon."
A dog and a cat were included in the evacuation, the ministry added.
Kyiv began evacuating Ukrainians from Lebanon in early August in response to heightening tensions in the region. Since then, Ukraine has evacuated 234 people from Lebanon.
The ministry thanked Poland and SkyUp Airlines for assisting with the operation.
Kateryna Denisova
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