Minister Asselborn told RTL that to his knowledge, twelve Luxembourgers and three residents, including children, remain on Ukrainian territory without a possibility to escape at the moment. About ten people managed to flee the country or are still on the road, noted the LSAP politician.
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The news of Luxembourg closing its airspace comes after a spate of other European countries announced similar moves. On Sunday, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Finland and Belgium all announced the closure of their skies to Russian planes.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received 53 applications from people who want to come to Luxembourg. Minister Asselborn emphasised that this number is expected to grow in the future, and that Luxembourg will do everything in its power to help: “We immediately establish contact with those people and see to it that we help them.”
The politician further explained that administrative procedures are being amended to facilitate help for war refugees in the future.
When asked about the three football players from the Luxembourgish national team who are trying to make it out of Ukraine, Minister Asselborn conveyed that Oli and Vincent Thill are scheduled to land at Findel airport at 2.30pm on Sunday. Both will take a direct flight from Budapest in Hungary.
Enes Mahmutovic will meanwhile fly from Krakow in Poland to Luxembourg via Munich. He is expected to land at 5.30pm today.
