As Turkey continues its large-scale evacuation efforts in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion of the country, diplomatic sources have revealed that Ankara also helped evacuate personnel belonging to several international organizations as well as foreign citizens.

Among the individuals who Turkey helped facilitate the evacuation of were personnel from the United Nations and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the sources told Daily Sabah, adding that citizens from several countries, including a Greek national, were also evacuated.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also praised Turkey’s efforts in a phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday.

"Turkey is making great efforts to achieve a cease-fire in the Russia-Ukraine war and to re-establish peace. It is also working hard on the issues of humanitarian aid and evacuations," Erdoğan told Guterres, according to a statement from the Communications Directorate.


Since Russia launched its war on Ukraine on Feb. 24, more than 2.5 million people have fled to other countries, with some 2 million more displaced within the country.