At least ten members of the Greek diaspora have died during Russian military attacks in Ukraine as of Sunday.
The latest four casualties confirmed by Greece’s Foreign Ministry were recorded in Sartana village in the country’s East, where previously an aerial bombardment left two dead and six injured, including a child.
“Pray for us,” pleaded Greek expat Athina Khadzhynova a resident of the administrative centre for the village, the city of Mariupol.
Speaking to Greek TV station Skai, Ms Khadzhynova said she lives with her 83-year-old mother, who hails from Sartana.
“There is no way for us to escape[…] I am hoping the Greek government will take strong action and use strong words to stop this war.”
The death toll which rose to 10 on Saturday, includes four casualties in the village of Bougas located north of Mariupol.
In response to the news, the Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted:
“The death of our compatriots causes sadness and anger for this unacceptable act of Russian attack on civilians. Condolences to their loved ones. The Greek Consulate in Mariupol remains open for assistance.”
Ο θάνατος ομογενών μας, προκαλεί θλίψη και οργή για αυτή την απαράδεκτη πράξη ρωσικής επίθεσης σε αμάχους. Συλλυπητήρια στους οικείους τους. Το Ελληνικό Προξενείο στη Μαριούπολη παραμένει ανοιχτό για την παροχή βοήθειας.
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) February 26, 2022
Meanwhile, Greece’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it was “appalled” by the deaths and it “unequivocally condemns the bombing of civilians”
According to the Ministry, General Secretary of the department Themistoklis Demiris “protested strongly” to the Russian Ambassador in Athens, Andrey Maslov during a phone call.
The ambassador was summoned for a meeting to the Ministry on Sunday.
In their own statement, the Russian Embassy in Athens expressed grief over the death of members of the Greek diaspora in the Donbas region but denied the bombing of inhabited areas claiming that “Russia’s special military operations in Ukraine only target military units and infrastructure exclusively.”
“The Russian Air and Space Forces were not operating in the region of the Sartana village today,” it said in a statement pointing to the Ukrainian forces.
“The Kiev regime is possibly using the Greek and other ethnic minorities living in Ukraine to provoke and inflame the anti-Russian reaction abroad,” it said.
