The South African envoy to Ukraine says he had to flee Kyiv because an armored Russian convoy was approaching the city.
As Andre Groenewald packed his car to leave on Wednesday morning, he heard explosions in the distance. With his wife, three children, and the last remaining embassy personnel, he is presently traveling south in a convoy of two trucks towards Romania, Moldova, or Hungary.
Colleagues and other ambassadors, he said, had been working hard to ensure a peaceful evacuation for South Africans and other foreigners from Ukraine, some of whom had suffered bigotry as they attempted to flee.
"We've heard all of these allegations, seen the films, and we're not buying it." We've protested ourselves on an official level to the government and asked them to please help the students that are still coming through," he added.
He added South Africa's ambassadors in Poland and Hungary had also gone to the borders to assist individuals.
Part of the issue was that "at first, only Ukrainian women and children" were allowed in, and because Ukrainian officials followed these instructions to the letter, this had impacted all foreigners.
"It's just been a really bad situation."
He denounced the discrimination and stated that bombs are not discriminatory.
A series of stories have surfaced alleging that Africans attempting to exit Ukraine face discrimination based on their race. Both ECOWAS and the African Union have decried the situation and urged the Ukrainian government to stop.
