Belgium's embassy in Kyiv has been closed and its staff has been evacuated in light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed.
"Due to the changing security situation, it has been decided to close the Belgian embassy in Kyiv. We will continue to provide consular assistance to Belgians still in Ukraine," Belgium's FPS Foreign Affairs wrote on Twitter.
🇺🇦 Wegens de veranderende veiligheidssituatie is er beslist de Belgische ambassade in #Kiev te sluiten.
We blijven consulaire bijstand verlenen aan de Belgen die nog in #Oekraïne zijn. ⬇️🧵 Hoe contact opnemen? pic.twitter.com/IEl0ylFrhi — 🇧🇪 Belgium MFA (@BelgiumMFA) March 1, 2022
A spokesperson for the ministry confirmed to The Brussels Times that the embassy's staff has left the country. In recent days, the embassy had been transferred to its French counterpart.
"The team was kept in Kyiv as long as the operational and security conditions allowed it. The continuity of consular assistance is and will remain guaranteed at all times," a statement read. Some responsibilities of the Belgian Embassy in Kyiv are to be taken over by the Belgian Embassy in Poland.
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The consular assistance to Belgians still in Ukraine will be continued by the Crisis Centre of the FPS Foreign Affairs and by the consular teams present at the various border posts with Ukraine, including in Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova.
Belgium is continuously monitoring the situation on the ground. The latest updates on the travel advice for Ukraine state that all travel, especially in Kyiv, is particularly risky, and that people who are in a "safe place with sufficient food and choose to stay there, stay inside and away from windows as much as possible."
