Iran advises citizens to refrain from Ukraine travel

Iran’s foreign ministry advised its citizens on Friday to refrain from traveling to Ukraine and asked Iranians there to leave the country, semi-official news agencies reported.

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“Due to the military escalation in Ukraine, all Iranians are strongly advised to refrain from traveling to Ukraine. Also, Iranians living in Ukraine are advised to leave the country for their own safety,” a ministry statement said.

Last week, Russia unleashed the biggest wave of missile strikes against Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion.

President Vladimir Putin cast the airstrikes with missiles and drones as revenge for an explosion that damaged Russia's bridge to Crimea.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the bridge explosion but celebrated it.

On Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities had rendered the country’s power grid a “battlefield”, spurring a new wave of Ukrainians fleeing to Europe.

Energy-saving measures are being put in place across Ukraine after Russian missile and drone strikes destroyed more than 30 percent of the country’s power stations in a week.

As a response to the attacks, the Ukrainian leader called for European countries to supply Kyiv’s military with more and sophisticated air defenses and hit Moscow with more economic penalties to limit Russia’s ability to fund its war.

Read more:

Iran personnel ‘in Crimea’ helping Russia war on Ukraine: White House

Russia turning Ukraine power grid into ‘battlefield’: Zelenskyy to EU

Zelenskyy says thirty percent of Ukraine’s power stations destroyed in a week